Please Wake Up
by Sivas
Summary: After the Kalos League and Team Flare's attack on Lumiose City, an incident causes Serena to fall into a coma. Two weeks later, she has not woken up. Ash begins to realize how much his childhood friend means to him as he fears for her life.
1. Two Weeks

Ash Ketchum sat quietly within the Pokemon Center, gazing out of a nearby window and watching the downpour of rain. It was late at night, and he had not moved from his current position for hours. The only other living being near him was his loyal companion, Pikachu, who was curled up beside him and fast asleep. Any movement from the Pokemon Trainer came from the occasional fidgeting of his hands. Any sound was from his rough, uneasy breathing.

"Ash...?" The quiet voice of his traveling companion, Clemont, called out to him. Ash remained motionless for a few seconds, before slowly moving his head to look at his friend who was approaching him. The Lumiose Gym Leader took one look into his eyes and knew instantly that getting his friend to talk would be impossible. Sitting down opposite him, he noticed Ash was once again gazing out of the window at the relentless rain. "Bonnie's asleep now. It's still... really hard, trying to get her to sleep. She's both worried and frightened about Serena-

A bolt of thunder suddenly crashed down into the woods outside the Pokemon Center. Clemont jumped at the sudden loud noise and his breathing became even more agitated than it was only moments before.

"Chaaa..." Pikachu yawned, sitting up and stretching its arms after being awoken by the thunder and lightning. The electric type rubbed its eyes and looked at its owner, noticing Ash had not moved at all since it had fallen asleep. Its ears lowered and the scientist saw how sad the Pokemon was.

"It was just the weather, Pikachu. You can go back to sleep." Ash spoke, catching both Clemont and Pikachu's attention. Ash gently rubbed Pikachu's cheeks for a few seconds, during which it closed its eyes and yawned happily. The mouse Pokemon returned to its sleeping position and closed its eyes, preparing to go back to sleep.

"Ash..." Clemont muttered, attempting to restart the conversation. "Uhm, it's getting pretty late, so I'm going to go to bed now. I don't want to leave Bonnie on her own either. You... should do the same."

"It's been almost two weeks, Clemont." Ash said softly, catching the blonde trainer's attention. Hints of frustration creaked through his voice. "Almost two weeks, and not a single hint of change. You'd think they would have at least found out what's causing it by now."

Clemont listened closely to what Ash was saying. This was the first time Ash had truly spoken about the situation effecting the entire group and how he felt about it. "I... understand, but they're doing the best they can."

"I'm... sorry, Clemont. I never thought something like this would have ever happened... I... I just haven't been myself lately." Ash continued, his voice slightly breaking as he struggled to speak. Clemont noticed a small tear falling out of his friend's right eye. The future Pokemon Master lowered his cap in shame, trying to hide his sorrow.

"No one has, Ash." Clemont admitted. The inventor sighed and stood up, giving his friend a small nod and heading off to his room.

Ash closely watched his friend leave and once Clemont had left his sights, he groaned in frustration.

"Pika?" The quiet voice of his first Pokemon called out to him.

"I'm gonna go see her. You coming?" Ash queried Pikachu, who nodded his head straight away. The trainer from Pallet Town forced himself up and stretched his arms as he walked to the front of the Pokemon Center. The doors automatically opened and the Ash dashed outside into the rain.

* * *

Bonnie shot up like a bullet and screamed. She panted heavily and tears formed in her eyes. "Another... nightmare..." She murmured to herself. After rubbing her eyes to clear any evidence of her sadness, Bonnie crashed back onto her pillow. However, she couldn't help but silently sob as she stared at the ceiling.

"Nene?" The voice of her Pokemon best friend, called out to her. It hopped over to her location and tapped her, wondering if she was alright.

"I'm okay, Dedenne." Bonnie reassured her companion, stroking the tiny fairy type. "Sorry if I woke you up."

Knowing she wasn't getting back to sleep anytime soon, Bonnie got out of bed and looked out the window. It was still raining heavily but the young girl found some comfort in the sound of the downpour. It was peaceful.

"Bonnie! Are you okay?!" The distressed voice of her brother called out to her, making her jump. She quickly turned around and tried to hide her sad emotions by smiling and reassuring she was fine, but Clemont didn't buy it. The inventor approached his younger sister and embraced her with a hug. "Did you have a nightmare?" He questioned his sibling.

"Yeah..." Bonnie whimpered, not hesitating to let out all her tears in her brother's arms. "It was horrible... I dreamt that you wouldn't wake up either..."

Clemont paused briefly before gently stroking her blonde hair. Despite being her brother, Clemont was not used to be being her main source of comfort when Bonnie was upset. That role was usually reserved for someone else who wasn't with them currently. "I'll be alright, Bonnie. Nothing won't happen to me. If I can live endless explosions from my inventions, I'm pretty sure I'll be fine."

His attempt to lighten the mood and cheer her up worked as Bonnie giggled a little at his response.

"Can we go see her tomorrow, Clemont?" She asked as she cleared the liquid from her eyes.

"Of course we can."

After some additional comfort from her brother, Bonnie fell asleep and Clemont put her to bed.

* * *

"I'm sorry. We haven't seen him since last night."

Clemont was surprised to hear that Ash was nowhere to be found when he and Bonnie awoke the following morning. As he listened to Nurse Joy's answer when Bonnie asked if she had seen him, he pondered where his friend had gone.

"He'll be alright, won't he?" Bonnie asked worryingly.

Nurse Joy gave her a comforting smile and nodded her head. "He has all his Pokemon with him, I'm sure he'll be fine."

"Bonnie, let's go see Serena. To be honest, I think that's where Ash went anyway." Clemont provided his conclusion to Ash's whereabouts. Bonnie nodded several times and Dedenne too agreed with the gym leader's suggestion.

The two siblings left the Pokemon Center after Clemont retrieved his Pokemon and they walked in silence to their destination.

When the two eventually reached the hospital and entered the room they had visited so much recently, Bonnie couldn't help but smile at what she saw. Sat on a chair beside a hospital bed was Ash, who was sleeping peacefully. Surrounding him were four familiar Pokemon who were also fast asleep. The first was Ash's best friend, Pikachu. The remaining three were Braixen, Pancham and Sylveon, Pokemon that belonged to the Pokemon Performer and future Kalos Queen, Serena.

The very same Serena who was in the hospital bed.

If it wasn't for the medical equipment, it would look like she was also sleeping calmly.

"Let's not disturb them, Bonnie." Clemont whispered. Bonnie nodded in agreement and the two sat down.

After a few minutes, a knock on the room's door came to their attention. One of the doctors the group had became familiar with entered and greeted only Clemont, who then noticed his sister and Dedenne had also fallen sound asleep.

"So... do you know anything more about Serena's condition?" Clemont asked. It was a question asked almost daily.

"Unfortunately not. I just wanted to do some checkups if that is alright." The doctor explained, to which Clemont gave his approval. Clemont looked over to the sleeping performer and felt guilt that he could not help himself. He was a scientist and though he wasn't a doctor, he wished he could invent something that could help. He feared that even if he could invent something, it would end up malfunctioning and causing even more harm to Serena. That thought held him back a lot.

Once the doctor finished his procedure, Clemont asked him if they were close to making any form of breakthrough. He had gotten the same answer almost daily and it was that she was alive and stable, but something that they couldn't find the cause of was preventing Serena from waking up.

"Clemont, is that you?" A familiar adult voice was heard. Clemont looked to the source of the voice, which was coming from the entrance. He recognized the clothing and wild hairstyle also immediately.

"Professor Sycamore?" He said in shock. He wasn't expecting to see the professor at all. They were in Lumiose City, but it was a large city after all. Then he realized. "What are you doing in this hospital?"

"A trainer whom I gave a Pokemon to as their starter had an injury on Route 5. I wanted to check up on them and make sure they were alright. Thankfully it was only a minor injury. What about you? Why are you here?" He explained and then asked the inventor. The professor let himself into the room and then saw who was sleeping on the hospital bed. "S-Serena?!"

"Serena... she won't wake up." Clemont quickly answered the question he knew Sycamore was going to ask.

Sycamore paused momentarily before deciding to take a chair and sit down next to the gym leader. "How long ago did this happen?"

"About two weeks."

"Around the time of the Kalos League and... Team Flare's attack." Sycamore realized. "Did they have something to do with this?!"

Clemont flinched at Sycamore as he had slightly raised his voice. Sycamore apologized as soon as he remembered there were people sleeping in the room. The professor's assumption was valid though. Two weeks ago Team Flare had launched a colossal attack on Lumiose City. The majority of the city was damaged, but repairs were proceeding quickly thanks to the efforts of heroes like Ash and Greninja who saved the city and the Kalos region as a whole.

"No, at least I don't think so. This... happened a few days after."

"Everyone else is okay, right?" He asked, looking around and noticing Ash and Bonnie sound asleep, alongside Pikachu, Dedenne and Serena's Pokemon.

"Both of them have trouble sleeping. I do as well, but not as much as them. I think being in here with Serena helps them." Clemont provided his analysis. "After all... we're like a family. Bonnie's really hurt over this and she's still upset over Squishy having to leave. As for Ash... its probably hurt him the most. He thinks it's his fault."

"It was my fault."

The gym leader and professor looked up and saw that Ash had awoken. Sycamore instantly noticed his face, it was a face he had never seen on the Pokemon Trainer before. It was the face of a frightened boy, who was truly terrified about his friend's condition.

"Ash, you know you're not-" The young electric type trainer started.

But Ash decided to interrupt him. "It was, Clemont."

"What exactly happened?" Sycamore queried. "I'd like to hear the full story, if that's alright. Perhaps I can help figure out what exactly happened to her, since you don't seem to know."

The two Pokemon trainers stared at each other, both hoping the other could explain. After some time of silence, Ash finally gave in with a sigh.

"Okay... here goes..."

* * *

"Everyone! Food is ready!" Clemont announced to the group. Bonnie cheered happily with Dedenne soon approving himself after. Ash and Serena both smiled and sat down, ready to have some of Clemont's delicious cooking.

It was a few days after Team Flare's attack on Lumiose City, which Ash and many other people helped to fend off. Due to the damage done to Lumiose City, its main airport was not offering any flights. Ash was planning to head back to Kanto, but due to these circumstances he was prevented from doing so. Thankfully, an airport in Vaniville Town had flights to Kanto, so Ash decided it would be a good idea to head there. After all, it was an area of Kalos he had not explored yet and it was also Serena's hometown. They were currently all on Route 4 and had stopped to have something to eat.

Serena was silent as she ate. She had a lot to think about.

"Hey, Serena. You alright?" Ash asked her after swallowing some food. Usually, she was active in the conversation as they ate, but she was being strangely quiet.

"Y-Yeah!" She stuttered, a faint blush appearing on her cheeks since Ash caught her lost in thought. "Sorry, I was just thinking about stuff."

"What stuff?" Ash inquired. He didn't quite buy that everything was alright and wanted to make sure she was okay.

"Well, uhm..." She started, hesitating as she tried to think of words to say. "Well, we're uhm, we're almost near the end of our journey. When you go back to Kanto, that's it... we all go our own ways."

"Yeah... Serena's right..." Bonnie muttered. She too was sad as well at the thought of the group splitting up. They had been together for so long after all.

Ash smirked and laughed a little, "That's it?" Serena's mood quickly changed and she looked both upset and angry him. She was about to speak against him, but he continued. "Well, I'm honestly a little sad too. Hey, what don't you three all come back to Kanto with me? It'll be great fun! You can see all the Pokemon I've caught!"

"That sounds amazing!" Bonnie shouted in agreement. She turned to her brother with beaming eyes. "Can we, big brother?! Can we please?"

Clemont sighed at his little sister's begging, "I'm sorry, Bonnie, but I don't think we can. I have gym duties to consider and I don't know if it's okay letting you go on your own. Besides, even if I did think it was okay we'd have to ask dad first."

"C'mon, Clemont!" Bonnie scoffed at him. "Clembot can take care of all the gym duties. He's been doing it for so long already! Dad's been letting us traveling through Kalos just fine! It'll be fun! Besides, we're heading to Vaniville Town and the airport right now already. We wanted to see Ash off but how cool will it be to go with him?"

Clemont gave in. "Alright, when we reach Santalune City I'll call him, just to make sure."

"Awesome!" Ash cheered in excitement, alongside Bonnie who was equally as happy. "What about you, Serena?"

The Kalosian girl instinctively touched her blue ribbon and paused her eating as she wondered how to respond. Continuing her journey with Ash after the Kalos League was something that had been on her mind as long as she could remember. She knew his time in Kalos would come to an end and she desperately wanted to come with him to wherever he was heading next, but Palermo's offer of training her and helping Serena to fulfill her dream held her back for sometime. However, the past Kalos Queen had told the girl from Vaniville to call her when her journey was over. Serena had decided only recently that journey wasn't going to end yet. She was thankful Ash asked her to come with her; she honestly had no idea how she would have asked him herself. Serena smiled and responded, "Well, I'd have to ask my mother... but honestly I'd love you."

The performer's eyes widened in astonishment at what she said. Her face grew a crimson red and her heart began to beat incredibly fast. Bonnie glared at her but with a cheeky grin.

"That's great! You'll love it in Kanto!" Ash replied with a cheerful smile. Serena's breathing calmed down fast and she breathed a drawn out sigh of relief. Bonnie continued to stare at her but she ended up giggling quietly to herself. Serena simply smiled.

"I'm looking forward to it."


	2. In the Woods

"Real smooth back there, Serena." Bonnie teased, putting a lot of emphasis on the first word. Serena tried to hide her embarrassment and told Bonnie to be quiet. The group of four were now back on the road, heading to Santalune City. The plan was to reach there before the night, then say hello to Viola at the Santalune Gym the morning after before they headed out again. Ash and Clemont were at the front, talking about the Santalune Gym battle. It had happened so long ago by now that talking about it was fairly nostalgic. Serena was looking forward to heading back to the gym as well, but for a slightly different reason. It was the place she properly saw Ash again for the first time since her childhood, so for that reason alone it had a lot of value to her.

"And you helped me out a lot, didn't you Serena?" The friendly voice of Ash Ketchum snapped Serena out of her thoughts.

"Oh! S-sorry, I zoned out a little there. What were you talking about?" Serena apologized, once again getting caught lost in thought.

Ash looked a little concerned at first, but then smiled, "The Santalune Gym battle. I lost the first time but it was all thanks to you that I won in the rematch."

"Aw, thanks Ash. Though I didn't do that much." The performer responded. Before the Pokemon Trainer could reply, they were distracted by a few droplets of rain.

All of a sudden, the heavens opened and the whole route was flooded by rain.

"Oh no, my hair's getting all wet!" Bonnie immediately complained, with Dedenne agreeing with her as it hid away in Bonnie's bag.

"Luxray, come on out!" Clemont shouted, releasing his loyal electric type Pokemon. As soon as it came out, it didn't seem the slightest bit fazed by the weather. "Luxray, we need you to find shelter as soon as possible."

"Lux." The Pokemon acknowledged the gym leader's request with a nod. It began to scan its surroundings, its eyes glowing as it tried to detect any form of safe haven. Luxray then suddenly began running into the nearby woods, which the others took as confirmation that it found shelter. They all quickly ran after it.

After about a minute, Luxray stopped and the group noticed it had found a small cave. Once everyone was inside, Ash smartly sent out his Talonflame to use its Flame Body ability, making sure everyone was warm. The two girls were busy drying their hair while Clemont was searching through his backpack to make sure all of his equipment wasn't damaged.

"Everyone alright?" Ash asked the group. It was still raining heavily, but at least they were all safe from the storm now.

"Just about." Serena sighed. She was a little annoyed at her clothes getting soaked, but the weather was something out of her control. She began to scan the cave with her eyes. "Looks like this cave is big enough for us to set up our tents. We should stay here for the night."

"Aw, no fair!" Bonnie complained. "I thought we were going to rest in Santalune City."

Bonnie continued muttering to herself while Clemont began setting up the tent for himself and Ash, "Well, I don't think the weather is going to get any better any time soon, Bonnie. It's best we stay here for the night." He explained to his younger sister. She pouted in return, but cheered up when Dedenne appeared from her bag in a cheerful mood.

* * *

"Ash?" Serena whispered as she approached her childhood friend. Many hours had gone by and it was now the middle of the night. The rain had began to stop when everyone was getting ready to sleep. It had now stopped fully and the night sky was as clear as possible. Serena adjusted the bow on her head as she waited for a response. She had changed into her pajamas, so she was a little chilly.

"Hey, Serena." Ash greeted his companion, adding a smile after his greeting and then turning his head to look at the sky. He too was wearing his usual night gear.

Serena quietly sat down next to Ash and mimicked his actions, looking at the stars above herself. "How come you're still up?" She questioned him.

"Couldn't sleep." He admitted. Both Serena and himself were sat outside the cave, meaning they couldn't disturb the two siblings. The rocky terrain they were sat on was a little damp, but neither seemed to mind it.

"Anything on your mind?" She inquired. Serena was a natural worrier and her crush didn't exactly make that characteristic any better.

Ash quietly laughed to himself. His facial expression changed a few times afterwards. Serena figured he was probably thinking of how to answer her question, so she remained patient. "Well... I'm just a little concerned."

"About?"

"I didn't disappoint you, did I?" Ash asked. Serena eyed him with a confused expression, which the Pallet Town trainer noticed. "I'm talking about the Kalos League. You're not upset I didn't win, right?"

"Of course I'm not upset!" Serena responded immediately. "I thought you did fantastic. I'm very proud of you and I would still be proud even if you had ended up not doing so well."

Ash looked Serena in the eyes for a few seconds before smiling at her. "Thanks, that helps a lot."

"Are you upset you didn't win, Ash?"

The trainer from Kanto looked down at the floor, hiding his face from his friend. Serena regretted asking that question as soon as she saw his response.

"Not really, to be honest." Ash confessed, looking back up at her. "Sure, it bothers me a little that I was so close, but in the end I'm happy that I didn't give up-"

"Until the end." Serena interrupted and finished his sentence. As soon as she realized what she had done, her cheeks turned bright and she faced away from Ash. "S-Sorry." She muttered quietly.

"That's what I told you as a kid, right?" Ash questioned Serena.

After a brief moment of time, the girl from Vaniville Town turned her head to face her crush once more. She began to play with her hair and a smile formed on her face. "Yeah... that's right." She answered.

"I guess that got in your head, right?" He laughed, rubbing underneath his nose with his finger. "You have a saying too. 'Go for broke!'. I've found myself saying it a few times too."

"I've noticed. I got it from my mother." Serena replied. Her smile grew even bigger due to this interaction between her and Ash. She rarely got time to speak to him alone and she was loving it. Her mother's catchphrase which was passed down onto her then echoed throughout her head. Her hands started to shake a little. "H-Hey, Ash..."

"Yeah?"

"T-There's something I want to t-tell you... i-if that's a-alright." She said, stuttering horribly as nerves began to overwhelm her. Serena was originally not planning to share her biggest secret at all tonight, but something about Ash saying her mother's words sparked a temporary burst of confidence within her. Now that confidence was gone, but she had no way out now. She had to do this.

"Sure, go ahead-" Ash started, before a loud scream interrupted him. Both Ash and Serena looked at where the sound had came from and all they saw was a nearby forest. Suddenly, swarms of flying type Pokemon emerged out of the nearby woods. There were countless amounts of them.

"W-What do you think is happening?" Serena murmured. She was upset her moment had been interrupted, but part of her was relieved because she was extremely nervous.

"I don't know, but I think I should go see if things are okay. We did hear a scream after all." Ash suggested. He looked to the direction of the cave and pondered whether to wake Clemont or Bonnie, but decided against it. Both were exhausted before they slept. Clemont had to set up the tent and Bonnie tired herself out playing with Dedenne and Pikachu. Ash didn't want to disturb their sleep. He had all of his Pokemon with him, aside from Pikachu who was with Bonnie, so he knew he could stay safe.

"Alright, but I'm coming with you." Serena informed Ash, who nodded in return. They both stood up simultaneously.

"Noivern, I choose you!" Ash said as he let out the dragon-type Pokemon. It appeared a few meters above them and roared in delight. "Noivern, we need you to take you to that forest over there." Ash said, pointing towards the woods. The large Pokemon nodded and landed, granting passage to his trainer to mount up. Ash climbed on and secured himself on his Pokemon. He looked then at Serena and reached out towards her with his hand.

Serena blushed at what he was doing and hesitated to act, "Um... are you sure there is room for two on there...?"

"Should be." Ash laughed. "If you want, I can call out Talonflame and you can-"

"No!" Serena raised her voice slightly. Immediately after, she covered her mouth with both of her hands for a few seconds. Her companion looked at her with confusion. She sighed and took Ash's hand, who then helped her up onto the Sound Wave Pokemon. During this process, she couldn't help but blush even more as she sat behind him.

"Alright, let's go." Ash gave Noivern the order to head off. The bat-like Pokemon then took off towards the skies. Serena instantly felt herself falling back. She quickly panicked and instinctively wrapped her arms around Ash, holding onto him as if her life depended on it. "Hey, Noivern. Can you slow down a bit?" Ash asked it.

Noivern acknowledged the request by gliding slowly towards the forest. Serena felt like she was the most flustered she had been in her entire life. She wanted to hide her face with her hands in embarrassment, but she couldn't exactly do that with her arms currently around her crush. _"He... he doesn't seem to mind, either..."_ She thought to herself, a hint of a grin appearing on her face.

"Noivern, you see anything?" Ash asked. Noivern looked down and saw the forest he was asked to head to. He watched carefully to see if anything of interest appeared. His eyes shifted and then he saw something he knew his trainer would want to see. Noivern looked back at Ash and nodded. "Alright, let's head there."

* * *

"The boss is gonna be so pleased!"

"I haven't felt this happy in a long time!"

"Hmm... maybe this Pokemon would work well in the showcases..."

"Jessie! We're gonna give it to the boss!"

Team Rocket were happy to say the least. They had parked their balloon in the middle of the forest, hoping to rest for the night and then follow the twerps the morning after. That is, until they were awoken by someone passing through the forest.

"Let me out!" The angered voice of a young girl called out to them, trapping in a small cage.

"Be quiet, twerp girl." Jessie ordered, walking up to the girl. "If you be a good little thing, we'll set you free."

The girl pushed her hand throughout her wild black hair, trying to adjust it. She glared at the Team Rocket member and sighed, "I'm only leaving if I'm leaving with Mimi."

In an even smaller cage next to her was an Espurr. It seemed to be not paying attention to anything around it.

"Sorry, kiddo." Meowth said as it too approached the girl. "That Espurr of yours is pretty powerful. It put up a good fight against both Gourgeist and Inkay. We're going to give it to our boss as a little gift."

"Mimi is the only thing I have!" She yelled, grabbing the bars of the cage and shaking them out of desperation.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Jessie said, rolling her eyes. She turned to her adult companion and noticed he seemed to be distracted. He was mindlessly looking up at the sky. "James, what the heck are you doing?"

"There's a Noivern up there." He replied instantly with a hint of excitement in his voice. He knew first hand how powerful a Noivern could be. He then saw something he wasn't expecting. "Wait, it's coming towards us!"

* * *

"I should have known they had something to do with this." Ash muttered. He was a little annoyed at seeing the iconic Team Rocket balloon. "Whatever they're up to, it's no good."

"Ash, I see a girl down there." Serena shared her observation.

Ash looked at where she was pointing at and saw what Serena was referring to. There was someone down there, trapped in a cage. An additional cage next to it also had a Espurr in it. "Alright, Noivern, head on down there!"

Noivern roared in approval and glided down, flapping its wings rapidly as it descended and landed on the ground.

"Team Rocket, what are you up to now?!" Serena demands.

The three members of the Kanto organisation all looked at each other and grinned.

"Prepare for trouble, why are you even here?!"

"And make it double, you should go and disappear!"

"To protect the world from devastation!"

"To unite all people within our nation!"

"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"

"To extend our reach to the stars above!"

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now, or prepare to fight!"

"Meowth! That's right!"

"Wobbuffet!"

"That was really lame."

Jessie, James and Meowth had proud smiles on their faces before they then heard what their prisoner said.

"How dare you insult our motto!" James yelled at the girl, who sighed in return.

"Team Rocket, let that girl go!" Ash demanded. He jumped off the flying type and reached out towards Serena with her hand. The performer took the hand after a brief moment of hesitation and he helped her down. She was a little disappointed she wasn't holding onto him anymore, but maybe there was a time for that to happen again later. After the two were on the ground, Noivern roared, signaling he was ready to stand by his trainer's side.

"Now why would we do that, twerp?" Jessie responded. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a PokeBall." Gourgeist, darling, come help out!"

James did the same motion as his partner, "Inkay, I need your help!"

"Noivern, use Boomburst on Inkay!" Ash commanded. The dragon type aimed its ears and they began to glow a bright blue. From the ears then came a massive sound wave that struck Inkay and sent it flying until it landed in a nearby tree. Ash was a little surprised that the psychic type was defeated so easily, but decided to ignore it. "Alright, now use Dragon Claw on Gourgeist!" Noivern flew with haste, striking the ghost type with its strong physical move. Just like Inkay, Gourgeist was sent flying until it was stopped by a tree.

"What?!" Both Jessie and James yelled, completely flabbergasted at what happened. They quickly returned their partner Pokemon to their PokeBalls and looked at each other for possible answers.

"You forgot Mimi weakened your Pokemon earlier." The trapped girl informed the Rocket trio.

Jessie growled in frustration, "Why you little..."

"Boomburst!"

The Team Rocket didn't notice the sound wave attack coming their way until it was too late. The blast sent Jessie, James, Meowth and Wobbuffet flying into their balloon and then into the sky.

"Looks like we're blasting off again...!" They yelled in unison.

"Wobbuffet!"

Ash let out a long sigh and looked towards the girl Team Rocket had imprisoned. She looked very happy that the evil team had been sent flying. "Alright, let's get you out of there." He said, approaching the cage.

"T-Thank you!" She shouted back at the trainer. "I-I thought they would have actually stolen Mimi forever... she's the only thing I have."

"What's your name?" Serena asked with a smile.

"Oh! O-Of course!" She stuttered, somehow not expecting the sudden question. "My name is Emma."


	3. Under the Night Sky

"T-thank you for helping me!" Emma thanked Ash and Serena with a polite bow. The Espurr with the nickname of Mimi was hiding away in Emma's arms, not attempting to make any form of contact to its saviors. It remained motionless.

"That's alright. You're not hurt, are you Emma?" Serena questioned the girl they had rescued. After defeating Team Rocket, Ash had used his Greninja to cut open the bars of the cages as carefully as possible. After a job well done, Ash had recalled the water type back to its PokeBall.

"No, no, I'm fine. A little shaken up, but I'll be alright. It's not every day you and your Pokemon get kidnapped." She said, gently stroking the fur of the psychic type in her arms. "Sorry about Mimi, she's very shy. What just happened probably hasn't helped her at all either."

"Well, I'm glad things worked out in the end." Ash stated, receiving a few nods from his female companion after.

All of a sudden, Mimi stirred and moved her body to face Ash and Serena. It stared at them for a few moments before it turned its head back towards Emma. Espurr then suddenly yelped and jumped out of Emma's arms, "M-Mimi?!" Emma cried out, catching the Pokemon's attention as it landed on the ground. It paused briefly before it started to run away. "Mimi, where are you going?!"

Emma immediately charged after it, desperate to catch up to Mimi and make sure it was not getting itself into danger. Ash and Serena instinctively began to follow the girl they had just rescued as well.

"Hey, Emma!" Ash called out to the black haired girl. "I dunno why Mimi's running away, but can you try returning it to its PokeBall?"

"Mimi isn't a captured Pokemon, Ash. We... we're best friends b-but, I'm poor and I can't afford any PokeBalls. Beside, I'm not even a trainer..." Emma admitted as she struggled to keep her eyes on and follow the running psychic type simultaneously.

The three were now getting much deeper into the words. It was getting difficult for the three of them to follow Mimi, as branches and leaves kept getting in the way as the forestation got more intense. Emma suddenly stopped. Her sudden end to her running almost caused Ash and Serena to bump into her, but they managed to notice what was happening in time.

"No... I lost sight of her." Emma muttered, her breathing getting a little uneasy as she spoke.

Serena placed a calming hand on her shoulder, "Hey, don't worry Emma. We'll help you find Mimi."

"Yeah! Don't give up until the end!" Ash yelled in agreement. Serena couldn't help but smile happily at what her companion had said.

"Thank you..." Emma murmured in return, though her voice suggested she was still upset.

"Do you have any idea where Mimi would have gone, Emma?" Serena questioned the young girl.

Emma shook her head several times in response, "I... don't know. Mimi has run off a few times before, but that's when we were in the city... there's a spot she likes to go to but we're in the middle of a route here, not Lumiose, so I have no idea..."

"I'm sorry... maybe we startled her." Serena apologized, believing it was her and Ash's fault for possibly scaring the Pokemon in the first place.

* * *

"Clemont, wake up! Wake up!" Bonnie yelled at her sibling, shaking his body as fast as possible, hoping to wake him up quickly.

"...science..." was all Clemont muttered in return. Bonnie rolled her eyes and then whispered something into Dedenne's ear. The Antenna Pokemon's grin grew gigantically as Bonnie spoke to it.

"BONNIE!" Clemont yelled. Dedenne had just used its Nuzzle attack on Clemont, rudely awakening him from his slumber. The Kalos scientist knew instantly that his younger sister was to blame and her massive smirk only confirmed this. The Lumiose gym leader was about to tell his sister off, but the look on her face suggested she was bursting to tell him something.

"Clemont! Ash and Serena are missing!" Bonnie said, oddly happily. Clemont adjusted his glasses and gave her a odd look. "I think this means Serena is going to confess or is confessing to Ash right now, isn't that amazing?"

The inventor continued to give his younger sister a confused look, "I don't believe I follow..."

"Oh yeah, you're super dense. I somehow forgot." Bonnie said with a sigh.

"I don't know what you're talking about, but if they're missing, we should probably go and find them." Clemont suggested, receiving a nod from Bonnie in return. They began to gather their things and head out.

* * *

"I'm really sorry for all this mess..." Emma muttered. She was even more upset than before. Mimi had been missing for over an hour now and the trio weren't having any luck at finding the missing Pokemon. Ash had even sent out his Talonflame to head into the skies and search, but it hadn't returned yet.

"Don't worry about it." Ash reassured their new friend.

Serena was about to speak, but the group heard Ash's Talonflame calling out to them.

"Talonflame, did you find Mimi?" Emma asked, holding her hands together and hoping to receive good news. The Scorching Pokemon nodded its head.

Ash smiled at the bird Pokemon, "Alright, lead the way!"

The flying type began to fly through the woods, keeping a consistent slow speed so it wouldn't leave anyone behind and maneuvering around any trees in its way. Ash, Serena and Emma followed it, the latter speeding up.

"Emma, please slow-" Serena started, before she shrieked as her body suddenly hit the ground. Ash quickly stopped and noticed his companion had tripped on a tree root. Emma too noticed a little later, stopping a few yards ahead of them.

"Serena, are you okay?" Ash asked with haste, noticing his friend was in an uncomfortable looking position.

"I'm sorry! I was running too fast and-"

"Emma, follow Talonflame and find Mimi! We'll catch up to you!" Ash interrupted her. Emma tried to protest as she was concerned for Serena, but Ash told her to go.

Serena tried to move her body but shrilled as pain overwhelmed her.

"Serena, what hurts?" Ash questioned, kneeling down beside her. She had her eyes completely closed and was breathing heavily, but she heard Ash's question and noticed how worried he sounded.

"It's... my left arm. I landed on it and it... it hurts..." She muttered, taking deep breaths between words as she tried to resist the pain she was feeling. Serena attempted to stand up, but she was having difficulty doing it with just one arm. It was harder than it should have been as though her arm was what was seriously injured, the rest of her body ached from the fall as well. During her attempt, a strong arm grabbed her unharmed hand and pulled her up. Serena quietly yelped at being forced to her feet, but recovered when she realized who was helping her.

"You alright?"

Serena nodded and her cheeks warmed up due to how close she was to Ash.

"I'm glad." Ash replied with a grin. "Let's go find Emma and Mimi."

"Right."

* * *

"Mimi, there you are!" Emma called out to her Pokemon. The small psychic type was currently sat on a tree branch. It was a miracle Talonflame somehow managed to find it from the sky. The girl from Lumiose approached the tree and gazed up at her friend. "Mimi, what's wrong? It wasn't Ash or Serena, right? Please tell me what's bothering you, we're friends!"

"Emma!" Ash and Serena called out to the girl they had recently befriended. Serena was gently holding her arm as she ran, making sure to stay more observant of her surroundings.

"Talonflame found Mimi, she's up there!" Emma pointed towards the tree branch. Ash looked at the psychic type and noticed its eyes. They were full of fear.

"Mimi looks terrified, Emma." Ash commented. Emma was about to question the young trainer on what he meant, but Talonflame suddenly dove in front of the psychic type, directly taking a Shadow Ball attack.

All three were astonished at what happened, "Who's there?!" Ash shouted into the woods.

At first, there was nothing but silence. Eventually, out of the dark woods, came out a Pokemon Ash and Serena were very familiar with. It was a Malamar.

"Is that...?" Serena whispered to Ash.

"I don't know, but we should probably be careful." Ash replied to his traveling companion.

"Let me help, Ash! Even if this isn't the same Malamar from before, we know they're tough Pokemon."

"No." Ash responded, leaving Serena in astonishment at both how fast he had responded as well as his answer. Ash looked into Serena's eyes and could tell she was hurt. "You're injured. I dunno what this Malamar wants but I'm not going to let you get hurt again."

Serena was happy that he was concerned for her safety, but part of her still wanted to help. She reluctantly gave in to his request and slowly walked backwards so she could stay out of the way.

The Malamar conjured another ball of darkness, aiming for the Espurr once more.

"Steel Wing!" Ash called out to Talonflame, who immediately responded by slicing the sphere of darkness in half.

"What does that thing want?" Emma asked, concerned for Mimi's safety.

"No idea, but if it wants to hurt Mimi then I'm not gonna let it!" The Kanto trainer responded with enthusiasm. "Talonflame, Flame Charge!"

The bird Pokemon gathered heat from its body and unleashed it around itself, becoming a bullet of fire as it charged towards the Malamar. The Overturning Pokemon was surprised at the speed and was successfully struck by the attack, sending it to the ground. However, it managed to recover quickly enough and fired a Psybeam at Talonflame, who instinctively dodged it. The Malamar was clearly getting frustrated at the fire type's superior speed and kept attempting to use Psybeam, hoping for one to hit.

"Talonflame, finish this with Brave Bird!"

The flying type acknowledged its trainer's request by charging Malamar as its body glowed a magnificent blue. With the additional speed received from the Flame Charge, Malamar was caught in the powerful attack.

"Great job, Talonflame!" Ash praised his Pokemon, extremely happy with its performance.

The Malamar was severely injured, but not done. It stared at Emma and then at Ash before it began to float high into the air, its speed increasing until it could not be seen any longer with the naked eye. The Malamar had fled.

Mimi yelled, catching Emma's attention. The vulnerable psychic type jumped down from the tree branch and landed safely in Emma's arms. The Lumiose girl saw the smile on the Pokemon's face and was relieved, "Was it that Malamar that was bothering you, Mimi? Did you sense it?"

Mimi nodded and snuggled into Emma's arms, to which she grinned happily.

Ash smiled at the interaction between the two, satisfied he was able to reunite them with little issue, "I'm glad things worked out." He said, returning Talonflame to its PokeBall. He began to turn towards Serena's direction, "Serena, we should head-"

The future Pokemon Master's eyes widened and his mouth shut completely. He remained motionless for several seconds.

Serena had gone.

"E-Emma," He stuttered. "Where is Serena?"

Emma was a little distracted hugging the much more cheerful Mimi, but Ash's voice caught her attention, "She... she was right here, wasn't she?"

"Yeah." He quietly responded. "She was right here a minute ago..."

"Maybe she went back to Clemont and Bonnie?" Emma suggested. Ash pondered to himself for a small amount of time. He had told her to stay out of harm's way, but he doubted she would have ran off as a response to that.

"She's injured. Serena said her arm really hurt form that fall earlier." Ash explained why he was starting to get a little worried.

"Oh... that's because I was running too fast... right?" Emma asked, looking a little upset. "Sorry about that..."

"It's fine." Ash chuckled, although a little uneasily. His thoughts came coming back to Serena. He was baffled at how and why she had just disappeared. "Can you help me look?"

"Of course! I'll be right behind you, just let me make sure Mimi's not injured.

Ash nodded, recalled Talonflame, and ran in the direction they had came from. Both Ash and Serena didn't know the woods, but the Pokemon Trainer concluded it was likely she would have headed back the way she came.

* * *

There she was.

Ash was a little surprised he had found Serena so quickly, considering how long it took them to find Mimi. An ocean of relief saturated the trainer from Pallet Town.

"Hey, Serena?" Ash called out to her. She was sat down with her back against a tree and her eyes were half-closed.

"...Ash?"

"I'm here. Are you alright? Why'd you wonder off? Are you still hurt?" Ash bombarded her with several questions.

"...I'm really tired." She admitted, yawning quietly. Ash wasn't too surprised by her response. By now, it was bound to be the middle of the night. He too was a little sleepy himself.

Ash sat down beside his companion and looked up at the sky. The moon was almost full and Ash felt at easy staring at the night sky. The trainer from Pallet Town then felt some weight on his shoulder. Looking to his side, he saw Serena resting her head on his shoulder. After observing her for a few moments, he concluded she was fast asleep. Ash rested his own head against the tree trunk. It wasn't the most ideal place to sleep, but he didn't want to disturb Serena's slumber. Slowly he drifted off to sleep.

Little did Ash know that the next morning would change his life forever.


	4. The Next Day

Ash awoke with the sun beaming down on him. He quickly shielded his eyes from the sunlight and let out a long yawn. His shoulder had weight on it and he noticed through the corner of his eye that Serena was sleeping soundly on it. He didn't ache at all, so he didn't let it concern him.

"Looks like I won the bet, Bonnie." Ash heard a familiar voice. As his eyes adjusted to the sun, he saw Clemont and Bonnie sat at a table eating some food. "Ash woke up first."

Clemont's younger sister growled at him but then stood up and ran over to Ash. Her eyes were wide open and she had a massive grin on her face. Bonnie clapped her hands together excitedly, "So...?"

"So...?" Ash repeated. Bonnie obviously thought he knew the answer to whatever she was asking, but Ash had no clue. Ash took a look at his surroundings and wondered why they weren't in the cave from last night, but the events that took place on that very same night came back to him and he remembered why he was now in the middle of a forest.

Bonnie sighed and pointed at Serena, "Are you two...?" She asked, her inner excitement being let free as she rubbed her hands together in anticipation.

Ash scratched his hair and looked oddly at her, "I dunno what you're talking about, but how did you two find us?"

"Bonnie woke up during the night and well... she got me up too." Clemont explained, giving his sister a disapproving look as he walked towards Ash. Bonnie giggled as a response to her brother glaring at her. "You two were missing so we headed out to find you. We found you two sleeping here so we relocated our camp here."

Ash observed his surroundings once again and noticed two tents set up. The inventor had also set up a table with four chairs as usual so everyone could sit, eat and relax.

"Anyway, would you like some breakfast, Ash?"

Ash's stomach rumbled almost instantly after Clemont spoke, to which Ash chuckled to himself. He looked to his side and saw Serena sleeping calmly. She hadn't woken up at all despite the conversation occurring around her.

"Serena?" He whispered. There was no response. He repeated her name again and stroked his hand through her hair to try and gently wake her up. Despite this, she didn't make any movement at all to indicate she was in the process of waking up, which the trainer from Kanto found odd.

"Hey, Bonnie?" Ash called out to the young girl, catching her attention. "Do you think you can help me bring Serena to the tent you two share? She's not waking up, so she's probably really tired and it'll be better for her to be in the tent than beside a tree." He asked, adding a small chuckle to the end of his request.

Bonnie grew a massive grin and Ash began to wonder why she was doing that so much. Ash stood up, but not before making sure Serena wasn't going to fall on the ground. Both Ash and Bonnie helped her to her feet and carried the young performer to her tent. Once she was tucked away in the tent, Ash joined Clemont and Bonnie for some breakfast.

"So Ash, what did you and Serena do last night?" Bonnie asked, adding a small giggle afterwards. Ash noticed it and wondered again why she was being so weird, but decided to ignore it for now.

"Well, we talked a little about the Kalos League at first." Ash started. Bonnie was almost at the edge of her seat, which only added to Ash's concern over the child. Ash decided he should probably talk to Clemont later and make sure Bonnie wasn't ill. "Our conversation was interrupted though by a loud scream coming from the forest."

Bonnie looked disappointed while Clemont had a look of concern. A scream certainly didn't sound good to him. He wondered how Bonnie and himself didn't wake up from a scream if it was loud enough for Ash and Serena to hear it from the forest.

Ash looked like he was deep in thought, "Come to think of it... we never found out what that scream was..." It was true. Both Serena and himself heard a scream and set out to investigate with the help of Noivern, only to run into Team Rocket and a girl they had captured.

"Please continue, Ash." The Lumiose gym leader politely requested after noticing that Ash was distracted from his story.

"Oh, my bad." He laughed. "Anyway, Serena and I decided to investigate, but we ended up running into Team Rocket. We defeated them and saved a girl they had kidnapped. Her name was Emma."

"Where is she now?" Bonnie questioned the trainer.

"I... don't know." Ash admitted. He hadn't seen the girl with the Espurr since he went out to look for Serena. She told him she'd be right behind him, but she hadn't made an appearance since. Did she get lost?

"Ash!" Bonnie's voice called out to him, snapping him out of his thoughts. "There you go again, zoning out like that." She added a complaint.

"Sorry, Bonnie. Last night was a little crazy so it's difficult for me to remember everything that happened." He apologized with some additional laughter. Ash then finished the entire story of the night before to the best ability to Clemont and Bonnie. He talked about Emma and her Espurr running off, the sudden appearance of a Malamar and him finding Serena after she vanished.

By the time Ash had finished his story, everybody had mostly finished their breakfast. Clemont was packing away everything so they could all get ready to head out for the day.

"I'm gonna wake Serena up. She's usually up by now." Bonnie informed the two older trainers, who both nodded simultaneously to show their agreement.

"So, Ash, what happened to Emma?" Clemont asked, restarting the conversation from before.

Ash paused briefly and quickly recalled the events of the night before, "I guess she got lost or something. She said she was going to help me find Serena, but I haven't seen her at all since then. It's a little weird, to be honest."

"Guys..."

Ash and Clemont immediately stopped their conversation and looked at the younger sister of the group. They knew something was wrong when they heard the tone of her voice. Bonnie was staring at them with several tears running down her face. Her body was shaking relentlessly. Dedenne was trying desperately to calm her, but nothing was working.

"...Bonnie?" Clemont muttered, unsure of what to say. His sister had a look he had never seen on her before. She was absolutely terrified and that was beginning to frighten him as well.

"Serena... Serena..." She muttered. Ash got off his seat instantly and ran towards her tent as fast as he could, shortly followed by Pikachu who was just as concerned. He peered inside and saw the performer calmly sleeping, just as she had been doing all morning. The only movement from her body was from her breathing. He sighed with relief that she was okay, but then began to doubt himself. If Serena was okay, why was Bonnie crying?

Clemont had his arms placed on his sister's shoulders and was attempting to calm her down with a quiet and gentle voice, "Bonnie, tell me what's wrong."

"She... she won't wake up, Clemont!" Bonnie screamed at her brother, who was shocked by her outburst. "I... I tried everything. I called her name, I shook her, I even got Dedenne to give her a little shock! Nothing's working!"

"Has she...?" Clemont murmured, his voice shaky as he started to get very worried. He was assuming the worst.

"She's still alive. Don't worry." Ash finished the question the inventor struggled to ask. Clemont looked at the trainer from Kanto and saw how concerned he was looking. "But, I... I dunno why Serena won't wake up... it doesn't make any sense."

Bonnie looked a little cheered up as it didn't appear her older friend was in any danger, but she was still saddened because for some reason, she would not open her eyes. The young blonde girl turned around and slowly headed back into her tent, followed shortly by her brother and Ash. She then tugged on her brother's arm to get his attention, "Clemont, what do you think happened to Serena?"

Clemont stared down at his sleeping friend in front of him, "If she's not waking up, we need to do something. We should take her to the hospital. I don't think any of us know what's wrong with her, but she'll be safe there."

"What hospital? We're in the middle of nowhere!" Bonnie reminded him.

The gym leader tried to keep his composure but found it difficult considering the predicament they were in, "We're still closer to Lumiose than Santalune. We should go back."

"How are we gonna bring Serena with us?" The youngest of the group raised a very good point.

"Noivern can take her there. I'll go too." Ash suggested, to which the two siblings both agreed with. "We're gonna have to separate for a while, though. Talonflame can't take the both of you unfortunately."

"That's alright, Ash. Get Serena to safety and we'll get to Lumiose as soon as possible." Clemont agreed with Ash's idea. He then reached into his pocket, pulling out a device before he began to fidget with it. "Before I forget, head to this hospital here. It's the best one in Lumiose." Clemont told Ash, pointing to his device. Ash looked closely at it and noticed it was a map of Lumiose City, with a certain building highlighted.

Bonnie went back into the tent to get Serena dressed while Ash let out Noivern and explained the situation to him. He was more than happy to help and he too was concerned about Serena. After Bonnie finished, the trio worked together to get Serena safely onto the dragon type.

"Alright, Noivern, are you ready?" Ash asked his Pokemon, who nodded his head in return. Pikachu then hopped onto his trainer's shoulder. "You ready too, buddy?"

"Pika!" Pikachu yelled, raising his hand into the air to show he was definitely ready. Ash grinned at his first Pokemon and turned his head to face the two blonde siblings. "Alright guys, we're gonna head off now. You two take care, alright?"

"You better make sure Serena doesn't fall off!" Bonnie yelled, rapidly waving her arms to make sure Ash was paying attention to her.

"Take care, Ash. We should be back in Lumiose in about a day or two, alright?" Clemont explained to his friend.

"Got it." Ash acknowledged the Kalosian's statement with a thumbs up. "Alright Noivern, let's go!" Ash gave Noivern the confirmation to take off. The dragon type flapped his wings several times and began to slowly ascend towards the sky.

Clemont and Bonnie watched nervously as Noivern took off towards the direction of Lumiose City.

"...Serena's going to be alright, right?" Bonnie asked her brother, gazing up at him with sorrowful eyes. Dedenne too was hoping for the best.

The older brother smiled down at her, "Of course she will."

* * *

Ash was starting to grow very worried. Being alone in the air with only Pikachu and Noivern gave him time to fully process what was going on. He looked down at his sleeping companion, who was sat in front of him and leaning against him. Ash had an arm around her waist to make sure she was stable while keeping another hand free in case something happened to Noivern, but the dragon type was taking it very easy to not endanger the two of them, which Ash was thankful for. Pikachu looked up at his best friend and could tell something was bothering him, but he was reluctant to say anything as they had more important things to worry about. Ash recalled the entire events of the night before once again.

Then he began to feel guilt.

When he found her after she disappeared, she seemed off, but Ash assumed it was because she was tired. _"I haven't even thought about why Serena vanished during my battle with the Malamar. Something happened and I was too distracted by the battle to even realize. It doesn't help that Emma disappeared too. I wonder what happened to her. Why did that Malamar even attack Mimi?"_

"Pikapi..." Pikachu whispered to him, snapping the trainer out of his thoughts.

Ash smirked at his companion, "You're right, Pikachu, I shouldn't worry about that for now. I'm asking myself too many questions, it's making my head hurt a little." He added a slight chuckle. "Anyway, the most important thing now is getting Serena to the hospital. She needs to get better so she, Clemont and Bonnie can come with us back to Kanto! It's gonna be awesome!"

"Pika!" Pikachu agreed with him, adding a smile to cheer his trainer up.

The Pokemon Trainer looked down at his female companion who was showing no signs of awakening. Ash knew he had never been so concerned over anyone this much before. But it was because he was starting to feel very guilty. She was fine last night, then he took his eyes off her and now she won't wake up. Ash snapped himself out of his negative thoughts; it wasn't like him to worry so much. She would get better.

"Serena, please wake up soon. We're all worried about you."


	5. Telling Them

"Noivern, we're here!" Ash called out to his dragon type Pokemon. Noivern briefly turned his head towards his trainer and nodded, showing his acknowledgement. The bat-like Pokemon gazed down and saw a large structure that was taller than any surrounding buildings. Ash double checked his location by using the device Clemont had given him and after making sure he was where he should be, he ordered his Pokemon to land.

Many nearby pedestrians were shocked by the sudden appearance of the large flying type and paused their actions to watch was happening. With the assistance of Pikachu and Noivern, Ash managed to get Serena safely onto his back. With Noivern and Pikachu holding her up, Ash grabbed her arms and wrapped them around himself. The two Pokemon then helped with making sure her legs were also wrapped Ash so the young performer wouldn't fall. Ash reached behind and held onto her back. After finally making sure she wouldn't fall, Ash breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank you, Noivern." Ash thanked his Pokemon with a smile. The Kanto trainer attempted to reach into his pocket to find Noivern's Poke Ball,, but realized he couldn't exact do that with his arms stabilizing Serena. After a small amount of time which left Pikachu snickering quietly, Ash thought of what he could do, "Noivern, can you head back to Route 4? See if you can find Clemont and Bonnie and bring them back here!"

The powerful dragon type nodded and flapped his wings several times, preparing for take off. Watching Noivern head off into the sky, Ash smiled and turned his head to face his small electric type companion, "Alright, Pikachu! Let's help Serena!"

Pikachu nodded and raised his arm in further agreement. Ash jogged carefully towards the entrance of the building, keeping his pace steady to avoid dropping Serena, but wanting to be somewhat fast so he can get her to safety as soon as possible. After less than a minute, he was in the building.

Ash hadn't been in a hospital in a long time. He gazed around, noticing all the doctors and people waiting in the large room. Luckily, someone had noticed that a boy walking into the hospital carrying a girl was probably a sign of something being wrong. Ash looked up and noticed a tall woman with short orange hair running up to him. She was also wearing a traditional doctor's outfit, "Young man! Is this girl alright? Is she injured?"

"This is my friend, Serena. She travels with me and my friends, Clemont and Bonnie." Ash explained. "We don't think she's hurt but she won't wake up."

The woman reached into a pocket and pulled out a Holocaster, a device that was prominent in the Kalos region. Ash watched anxiously as she began talking to several people through it.

After she was done talking, she looked down at Ash and gave him a reassuring smile, "Don't worry, young man, help is on the way."

Not too long after, several other doctors appeared with a stretcher and urged the Kanto trainer to place Serena onto it. Ash was extremely hesitant at first, as the urgency of their voices was suggesting something was very wrong. He didn't want to leave Serena alone.

"Young man, if you're worried about leaving your friend, you are welcome to come with us." The orange haired doctor reassured him with a small smile, correctly guessing that he was not too willing to leave his friend.

This reassured Ash's doubts and concerns completely and he complied with their wishes. With the help of the doctors around him, he placed the sleeping performer onto the stretcher.

* * *

Ash was playing the waiting game and he didn't like it. He had been told to wait while the doctors tried to figure out what was wrong with Serena. The future Pokemon Master wasn't used to waiting around and he certainly wasn't used to the situation he was in.

A nearby door opened and the same woman from before walked into the room. "You made the right call bringing your friend here." She started, giving him a small smile. "I have good news and bad news though. Luckily, the good news is pretty major."

"What's the bad news?" Ash asked instantaneously. Hearing that there was more good news than bad news was reassuring, but the fact that bad news existed at all worried him.

The doctor took a deep breath and remained silent for a few seconds before deciding to speak, "Your friend is in a coma."

Ash said nothing, but the woman noticed his facial expression has turned to one of sadness. Pikachu too had lowered his ears and wasn't sure how to deal with the news.

"The good news is that your friend is unharmed. There is nothing wrong with her. She has no injuries and there's no internal damage that could even cause a coma, so we're all honestly quite baffled at how... Serena, right?"

Ash nodded.

"Well, she shouldn't be in a coma. There's no logical cause for it. But the good news is that she's not in any danger."

"Can I do anything to help, doctor?" Ash quickly asked.

"Sorry, there's not much you can do, unfortunately. It's just a case of waiting for her to wake up... if she does." The doctor answered, but upon noticing Ash's eyes widening with fear at her last words, she quickly changed the subject. "In the mean time, we'll be working to see if we can pinpoint what's wrong with your friend. We found nothing at first, but we may do later. By the way, you can call me Aliana."

Ash scratched his hair and sighed, "Thank you, Aliana."

"Pikapi..." Pikachu whispered into his trainer's ear.

"You're right, Pikachu. She's gonna be alright!"

* * *

"Clemont! Bonnie!" Ash called out excitedly. He has been informed by Aliana that the gym leader of Lumiose City and his little sister had called for him. It had only been a few hours since he had sent out his loyal dragon type to find them and he was glad he was able to find the two siblings quickly. "I'm glad you got here quickly."

"Yeah, Noivern found us!" Bonnie responded with a smile, though it didn't last long as it morphed into a frown. "How is Serena? She's gonna be okay, right Ash? Nothing's wrong?"

"Hang on, let me go outside and recall Noivern, but don't worry, things are okay, I think!" Ash responded, though Clemont looked unconvinced and frowned himself. Ash quickly hurried outside and recalled Noivern, but not before thanking him for his work.

After Ash returned, Clemont repeated Bonnie's question, "How is Serena? Tell us the truth, Ash. We need to know what's going on."

"Hey, there's nothing to worry about Clemont. They told me she's gonna be okay." Ash explained, but then noticed the inventor was glaring at him with his arms crossed. He was not buying his story. "Well, she's fine, honest, but we don't know when she's gonna wake up. She's in a... coma."

Clemont closed his eyes and let out a long sigh. "I thought so..."

"Big brother, what's a coma?" Bonnie innocently asked, looking up at her older brother with a neutral expression; an expression that could easily change to one of happiness or sadness in a mere second.

The scientist paused and his breathing got a little unstable, "Well... Bonnie... it's uhm... well, it means Serena is gonna be asleep for a long time."

"How long?"

"We don't know, Bonnie." Clemont quietly replied to the young girl. "She could wake up tomorrow or well, she... might not."

"What?!" Bonnie screamed. Dedenne too was shocked at the explanation, mimicking her astonishment. "She... she might not wake up... at all?"

Ash placed a reassuring hand onto the blonde girl's shoulder, "Don't worry. Serena is strong! She'll wake up before you know it!"

"...Do you promise, Ash?" Bonnie looked up at him with tearful eyes.

The future Pokemon Master gave the young girl a grin, "I promise."

* * *

Ash Ketchum was struggling to figure out what to do when he was given Serena's Poke Balls by Aliana. The doctor told him that Serena's Pokemon deserved to know about what was happening to their trainer, but he didn't know how to exactly tell them.

"Pika, Pikachu." Pikachu added some encouraging words.

Ash looked to his companion and nodded. After a few seconds, he released all three of the performer's Pokemon simultaneously. Braixen appeared with a smile and twirled merrily. Pancham emerged with his arms crossed and his shades over his eyes. Sylveon also appeared with a smile and its feelers were twirling around in the air. All three took a few seconds to realize that it wasn't their trainer, Serena, who called them out, but rather Ash. Pancham and Sylveon looked confused while Braixen could tell something was not quite right.

Braixen walked up to Pikachu and looked at him in the eyes, "Brai?"

"Pika..."

"Everyone. I'm sorry to say this but... well..." Ash started, but he began to stutter when he saw the three Pokemon looking at him anxiously. "Serena... Serena is in a coma. I'm really sorry. She's not hurt or anything, we don't really know what's wrong with her, but she's not waking up..."

Sylveon reacted quickly and cried out in pain and confusion. Its feelers descended and stop moving. Pancham made little moment but its mouth was wide open in shock.

Braixen looked up at Ash with sorrowful eyes, as if it was waiting for him to say it was just a crude joke all along. Ash lowered his cap and hid his eyes in shame. He was feeling guilty again. He didn't like to see such amazing Pokemon in distress and terror.

Ash looked down at the fire type Pokemon, seeing it was hurt the most, "I'm sorry, but she'll get better. We all care for her and she's really strong! She will wake up before we know it!" Ash repeated what he had said to Bonnie.

Braixen's next action surprised Ash. Serena's starter wrapped her arms around Ash and hugged him, crying into his jacket after she finally understood that Serena's condition was not a lie. The trainer from Kanto was unsure of what to do at first, but settled upon gently stroking her head. It broke his heart to see such a Pokemon in pain.

"Excuse me," The quiet voice of Aliana, the doctor Ash had met earlier, called out. After getting Ash and the attention of the Pokemon, she continued, "You can see Serena now. The room is free for you to visit her."

All three of Serena's Pokemon raised their head and one by one followed Aliana into the performer's room. Ash followed shortly afterwards, but not before informing Clemont and Bonnie that they were free to see the member of the group that they all cared for so much.

* * *

The room was eerily quiet. No one had said a word since they entered the room and saw Serena in a hospital bed, sleeping peacefully. Ash found it a little uncomfortable seeing some medical equipment surrounding her, but knew the doctors were just doing their job. Braixen, Pancham and Sylveon were all sleeping. Braixen and Pancham were at the foot of the bed, while Sylveon was beside it on the floor.

Bonnie was trying her best to hide her tears. Walking into the room and seeing Serena surrounded by all sorts of medical apparatus made her truly realize that her older friend wasn't okay. Her brother mentioning that Serena may never wake up at all was playing in her mind and hurting her even more. Dedenne was trying to comfort her, but it wasn't working.

Clemont hadn't shared much of his emotion. He seemed to be too busy thinking. It was clear he was concerned over his sister, but was unsure of how he could comfort her.

"Guys... guys..." Ash quietly said. Since the room was quiet, his murmuring caught all their attention. "She's going to be alright. I dunno how long you two are gonna wait for her to wake up, but I'm not leaving the Kalos region until she does."

"Yeah..." Clemont responded quietly. He looked into Ash's eyes and noticed something he had never seen in the boy's eyes before. Ash was feeling guilt. The inventor wondered why.

Ash gazed down at the performer, "Serena... please wake up."

* * *

"It's been two weeks since then." Ash finished the story. Bonnie and Serena's Pokemon had not woken up at all; they were all sleeping calmly and had not been disturbed by the story being told. Clemont was silent, waiting for the professor's response.

Professor Sycamore brought a hand to his chin and thought for a moment.

"Ash, after hearing your entire story, I believe I have some important information to share with you... that is most likely linked to Serena's case." Sycamore said. Ash and Clemont's attention was instantly caught. "I didn't suspect anything at first, but as you were telling your story, things started to match with an incident that happened near Laverre City, about a week ago."

"What do you mean?" Clemont questioned the professor.

"There's another person who is in a coma as well. This isn't an ordinary coma though; doctors can't find the cause of it at all. But Alain told me that the night before, they too encountered a Malamar, just like you and Serena did."

"Alain?!" Ash called out. "Does that mean the person in the coma is...?"

Sycamore nodded and took a deep, uneasy breath, "Yes, it's Mairin."


	6. A Talk with Emma

**Apologies for the infrequent updates lately. I'm back in College now so that has slowed things down. I recently discovered though that this website isn't blocked on the college computers, so I will be able to write in my spare time there, so that should hopefully speed things up.**

 **I don't really want to write much here, as I prefer just having a full chapter without some rambling at the start, but I would like to thank those who have followed, favorited and reviewed this story so far. You're all the best. Anyway, onto the chapter.**

* * *

"No way..." Clemont said in disbelief. "What are the odds? Mairin too?"

"I don't think this is a coincidence, Clemont." Professor Sycamore argued, ready to propose his own theory. "Is it a coincidence that both Serena and Mairin's cases involved an attack by a Malamar? Is it coincidence that they are both close friends with the Kalos League finalists, who also happened to have played a major role in defending the region from Team Flare? Something's not quite right here."

Clemont paused for a moment and rubbed his chin gently, "Well, when you put it like that, something doesn't seem right at all."

"So you're saying that Serena not waking up is my fault?"

Sycamore bit his lip when heard Ash speak. This wasn't the same Ash he knew at all. The whole situation was devouring his optimism and his cheerful self.

"The professor isn't saying that," Clemont responded in place of Sycamore, purposely using a calm voice to make Ash question his conclusion. "He's just sharing a possible reason for the Malamar attack. Maybe someone has a grudge against you and Alain and is targeting those closest to you. Maybe it isn't that at all and it's something else entirely."

"Right..." Ash muttered in a frustrated tone.

"Excuse me," The quiet voice of a woman called out to them from the door. Ash looked up and recognized the woman as Aliana, the doctor who was overseeing Serena's condition. "I'm sorry, but visiting hours are over. You know I don't like to kick you out, Ash, but it's our policy and I will get in trouble otherwise."

Ash stood up and simultaneously stretched and yawned. "Don't worry about it, Aliana. Let's get ready to leave, guys." The Pokemon Trainer went over to each of Serena's Pokemon and gave them a small nudge to wake them up. The group had decided beforehand that Ash would be taking care of Serena's Pokemon due to the current circumstances. He would be their temporary trainer.

Clemont gave Bonnie a small nudge and she muttered something incomprehensible in her sleep, but it was clear she was slowly waking up.

"I will be heading back to my lab," Sycamore said to the two trainers. "Please, if you need anything, let me know. I'll help to the best of my ability."

"Thank you, professor." Ash and Clemont gave their thanks. As they watched Sycamore leave, the two trainers locked eyes and nodded. It was time to go.

* * *

Ash gazed out of the Pokemon Center window. Pikachu was by side, closely watching his trainer with saddened eyes. The electric type truly wished he could cheer his trainer up. Bonnie and Clemont sat beside him in silence. It was the next morning and Ash could barely keep his eyes open.

"So... when did you wake up, Ash?" Clemont attempted to start some sort of conversation. It was the morning after they had visited Serena and ran into Professor Sycamore.

"I... didn't sleep." Ash confessed, adding a nervous chuckle at the end. The two siblings wanted to criticize him, but they knew that he was suffering the most. They couldn't blame him for not being able to sleep.

"Hey, everyone!" The three heard a familiar and excited voice. Clemont and Bonnie looked up and saw Sawyer, one of Ash's main rivals in his adventures in Kalos, dressed in his usual clothing with his notebook already out and in his hand. "I haven't seen you all since the League ended!" He said with a smile, turning towards Ash after. "Y'know, I've also been training really hard and Sceptile and I have been gaining lots of experience. I know we battled in the League only two weeks ago, Ash, but I'd love it if we could have a one-on-one battle again if that's okay with you! We've learnt a lot in this small time and I think you'll be impressed!"

Nothing. Sawyer got no response at all, not even from Clemont and Bonnie. The young trainer didn't know how to react. He was expecting Ash's excitement for battle. He was expecting Bonnie to be her cheerful self. He was expecting Clemont to be enthusiastic about his inventions. Even Pikachu and Dedenne weren't their happy selves.

Then he realized.

"Where's Serena?"

No response again, but their faces looked sad. Uncharacteristically sad. That was when he knew something had happened.

"Guys?"

"Serena..." Clemont started, the only one out of the three who had gathered the courage to speak up. "She... she's in the hospital and... she won't wake up."

Sawyer said nothing at first. He was truly shocked at the news he was hearing. He looked at the three again and saw how exhausted and upset they all were. "I... I'm sorry! I... I had no idea!" He stuttered, waving his hands in front of him.

"It's okay, Sawyer. Don't worry about it." Ash reassured him, giving him a smile afterwards. But Sawyer knew his idol very well. He knew that the smile was forced.

"Sawyer! Don't run off like that!" An agitated scream caught everyone's attention.

Ash immediately turned his head towards the entrance of the Pokemon Center and saw a familiar face. A black haired girl ran towards the trainer from Hoenn and placed her hands on her knees as she panted heavily. The girl cleared her throat and gave Sawyer a pout. Sawyer raised his hands in defense and provided her with a grin.

"Emma?" Ash called out, almost in a tone of disbelief.

"Ash!" Emma responded with a cheerful shout. "So you're the one Sawyer keeps talking about! I should have known, honestly! Oh, how's Serena?"

Clemont scanned the new arrival and brought a hand to his chin, "So that's Emma..." He whispered to himself.

"I didn't know you knew Sawyer." Ash commented, deciding to ignore her question about the performer.

"We met a few days ago. Mimi and I are very poor so we can't really afford food," Emma started. "But he was such a gentleman and bought us an entire meal! I'll be honest, he's a little cute too..." She concluded with a teasing voice.

Sawyer's grin grew and he slightly blushed at the compliment, "Hey... uh... I was just doing the right thing, honest!"

"I've been kinda relying on him a bit though," Emma admitted, her smile turning into a small frown. Mimi was in her arms and looked up at her with curious eyes. She then raised her head quickly and smiled at the green-haired trainer. "But it's okay! I actually got a part-time job at a café so I should be able to pay you back, Sawyer!

"No, no, you don't have to do that!" He declined her offer.

"C'mon, I need to repay my debts."

Clemont cleared his throat, getting the two's attention, "I don't mean to interrupt, but can Ash and I talk to you privately, Emma?"

"Clemont...?" Ash quietly said, unsure of the scientist's intentions.

"Well, sure thing!" Emma replied as enthusiastic as usual, beginning to approach the two trainers. "I'll be right back, Sawyer."

Bonnie pouted and glared at her brother with suspicious eyes. It was obvious to her that she was being excluded from the private conversation, but she decided to give her brother the benefit of the doubt as what they had to say to Emma was obviously important. Bonnie turned to Sawyer who was reading from his notebook and asked if she could play with his Pokemon, to which the trainer happily accepted.

"What do you guys want to talk about, then?" Emma inquired the two trainers after they had found a private area to talk. "Oh, I haven't even introduced myself. My name is Emma, I guess Ash told you. You're the Lumiose Gym Leader, right? That's actually... really cool."

"Nice to meet you too, Emma!" Clemont quickly responded, a little nervous in his speech. Ash looked at the scientist, still unsure what he had planned. "Anyway, you met Ash in a forest outside Lumiose, right?"

Emma nodded in approval.

"Well, you also met Serena too, but right now... she's... is in a coma." Clemont explained once again. He heavily disliked informing people of Serena's condition; it was not a pleasant thing to share in the slightest.

"Oh gosh!" Emma screeched in shock, covering her mouth with her hand for a brief moment. "I... I had no idea!"

"It's alright." Ash attempted to calm her down.

"I'm really sorry," she began with an apology. "If I had known, I wouldn't have asked how she was earlier... because well, you know."

"We wanted to talk to you about Serena's condition, actually." Clemont finally told the reason for the private conversation. Ash watched the scientist as he explained Serena's circumstances and how it happened, leaving out events that Emma and Mimi were present for. After Clemont finished, Emma looked deep in thought. The Lumiose girl remained silent for around half a minute, before noticing the two trainers were locking eyes with her, making her a little nervous but helping her realize she needed to speak.

"So, I take it you want to know what was up with that Malamar?" She asked, adding a quiet uneasy chuckle, almost as if she had been caught red-handed committing a crime. "Well, it was training me."

"Training you?" Ash asked with interest.

"Yeah! You know how I mentioned I work part-time at a café, right?" She answered with another question, receiving two nods in return. "Well, the owner is offering me more money if I help him with an experiment of sorts. That Malamar is his." Emma finished.

"Experiment?" Clemont questioned with curiosity.

"Yup, I can't really say more than that, since I'm under some agreement or something... Anyway, that Malamar is training me, basically. I was told to enter the woods and survive the night while the Malamar hunted me down." Emma continued the purpose of her being essentially in the middle of nowhere two weeks ago.

"I see..." Ash replied. He wasn't quite sure what kind of training Emma was receiving, but he didn't like the idea of a Pokemon being ordered to find and attack her all night.

Emma sighed and gazed down at the quiet psychic type Pokémon in her arms, who was observing Ash and Clemont quietly, "Mimi didn't like it at all. That scream you heard on that night was Mimi's scream, amplified by her psychic powers. She's terrified of that Malamar. When we returned to the café, the owner wasn't too pleased with our results, unfortunately. He didn't take into account our encounter with you, Ash, or those weird Rocket guys. At least we got paid, I guess."

Clemont paused and rested his head on his crossed hands. Emma was about to continue, but he raised a finger to stop her, "Sorry for the interruption, but what's the name of the café you work at?"

"Lysandre Café." She answered quickly. "Named after the previous owner, if I recall. I've heard they're gonna change the name, though, since he was the one who caused that crazy plant stuff. That was really scary."

"Lysandre...?" The Kanto trainer muttered, not quite believing what he was hearing.

Clemont took in a deep breath before responding once more, "And I'm taking a guess that the owner of the café is now a man named Xerosic?"

"Yeah, exactly! Do you know him, Clemont?" Emma asked excitedly.

Clemont turned towards his companion and his expressions turned serious. "Ash, I don't know this for sure but... I think Serena and Mairin were targeted purposely by Xerosic."

"What...?" The black haired girl said in a combination of shock and disbelief. "There's no way. Xerosic is a good man; sure he can be a little harsh at times but... he's a good person!"

Ash said nothing. His focus was locked on Clemont and the inventor bit his lip. Pikachu watched his trainer carefully, unable to tell what was on his trainer's mind. Ash suddenly lowered his cap, turned around, and began to walk towards the entrance of the Pokemon Center.

"Pika..." Pikachu whispered into Ash's ear, trying to find out what he was up to.

Sawyer and Bonnie watched as the Pokemon Trainer walked past them without even bothering to look at them. Sawyer was tempted to say something, but decided against it.

* * *

"I'm surprised to see you here so soon, Ash." Sycamore greeted the trainer, who had made an unexpected appearance at his laboratory only a day after their previous talk. "Do you need my help at all?"

"Yeah," He answered while nodding quickly. "Do you have a way of contacting Alain? I need him to come to Lumiose City."

"Alain?" The professor repeated, hoping to learn more from Ash, but the trainer was silent and merely stared at the professor. This prompted Sycamore to properly answer his question. "Well, yes, but do remember he is looking after Mairin at the moment, so getting him to leave might be tricky. What do you need to talk to him about?"

Ash sat down on a nearby chair, crossed his arms and took a deep breath, "Well, I need him to know we're not done with Team Flare yet."


	7. Serena Stirs

"Ash! It's been a while. I heard about Serena from Professor Sycamore. I'm really sorry to hear about what happened." Alain greeted and apologized to the Kanto native. The two trainers were contacting each other through one of Sycamore's computers and could see each other clearly.

"I'm doing okay. She's gonna get better, I'm sure of it. Mairin too." Ash responded with a smile.

Alain observed his facial expression while maintaining his neutral one. The Mega Evolution trainer sighed, "Well, that's good. What did you need to talk to me about then?"

"I need you to come to Lumiose City." Ash answered with haste.

"Why?" was Alain's just as quick response.

"There's a good chance Team Flare are responsible for Mairin and Serena's condition," He started. Alain opened his mouth in shock and was about to say something, but Ash continued before he could do so and explained Clemont's hypothesis to the best of his ability.

Ash's rival remained quiet for some time, his eyes twitching as he grunted through his teeth. He knew Alain was upset, but was choosing not to share his emotions.

"I'm sorry," Ash apologized. "I... feel just as terrible about this as you do. I feel like it's my fault Serena's not waking up. I'm gonna be honest... it hurts a lot." The trainer shared his thoughts. Ash suddenly perked up with a grin and raised his fists slightly. "But both Serena and Mairin will get better! They're gonna be awake in no time. They're both strong!"

Alain perked up and smiled at Ash's confidence, "Try not to get too optimistic though, Ash."

"It's fine. I don't like seeing Serena not wake up everyday, but she will with time. I just know it. This can't last forever." Ash continued, causing Alain to quietly sigh.

"Anyway, we know now that Team Flare are mostly likely behind this, or at least have some involvement, so what do you propose we do?" Sycamore's assistant changed the subject by asking Ash a difficult question.

Ash pondered to himself briefly. He knew what he wanted to do, but wanted to word his idea correctly. "Well, I know where Team Flare is at. They are in Lumiose City and they are hiding at a café, so I figured since Mairin was hurt too then you should come with me there since this is your fight too."

"That means a lot to me. Thank you, Ash. I don't really want to leave Mairin all alone but I need to make sure the director's horrible ambitions don't live on. I can't let anyone else get hurt. I will let the professor know when I arrive in Lumiose, so keep in touch with him." Alain concluded the conversation.

"Got it, see you then Alain." Ash bid farewell to his friend.

"See you."

* * *

Alain closed his eyes, curled his hands into fists and squeezed them tightly. He opened his eyes once more and gazed at the young female trainer asleep in the hospital bed beside him.

Mairin.

A Chespin, known to him as Chespie, was fast asleep beside her. The Pokemon Trainer stood up and exhaled, "If they did this to you, Mairin... I'm so sorry. This is all my fault. But... I will fix this. I have to."

* * *

Ash was back in the hospital, watching Serena as she slept. The only others in the room were Pikachu and Serena's Pokemon. The electric type was busy playing with Pancham and Sylveon, keeping their spirits up in the process. The only one who wasn't with them was Braixen, who just like Ash, was watching her trainer as she slept on the opposite side of the room.

Ash wasn't sure how he was feeling. While he was glad they had found some clues to Serena's condition, he wasn't happy that Team Flare most likely had an involvement. The possibility that Serena was purposely targeted to get to him made his heart ache. He was already feeling guilty about Serena before, but now this was eating away at him. Ash knew that the only thing keeping him going was hope; hope that she would wake up soon.

And when she did, she would smile and everything would return to normal. Serena, Clemont and Bonnie would return with him to Kanto, they would meet all his Pokemon, and they would have an amazing time together. Ash was really looking forward to it.

"Please wake up, Serena." He said to her quietly. Only Braixen heard, looking up at the trainer and giving him a slight smile.

Suddenly, Serena's right hand twitched.

Ash's eyes widened and he initially said nothing. The event replayed through his mind several times until he realized he wasn't imagining anything.

"Her hand... did you see that, Braixen?" Ash whispered to the fire type Pokemon, who looked just as astonished as he was.

Braixen nodded several times and she began to look excited, "Brai! Brai!"

"Everyone!" Ash called out to the three playing Pokemon, who looked up with curiosity. "Serena... her hand moved! She... she might be waking up!"

All three Pokemon looked simultaneously shocked and happy. They all jumped on the bed and watched the performer carefully. Serena's mouth was now slowly moving, as if she was mumbling something.

Ash stood up and approached the exit to the room, "I'll be right back, everyone, I need to find Aliana!" He said to them excitedly.

Ash ran out of the room as fast as his legs could take him, trying to be careful not to bump into anyone. He approached one of several hospital staff rooms where he knew Aliana could be. The trainer opened the door, instantly catching the attention of several staff present.

Thankfully, Aliana was there. She walked up to him and saw the excited look on his face, "What's up, Ash? Has something happened?" She questioned him calmly.

"Serena...!" He started, his grin growing enormously. "Her hand and mouth moved! She must be waking up! Come see!" He finished, grabbing her hand as he started to bring the doctor with him.

"Pika, pi!" The voice of Pikachu stopped Ash in his tracks. His grin dissipated as he heard the tone of his first Pokemon's voice calling out to him. It was one of worry, concern, and terror.

Ash let go of Aliana and rushed to Serena's room, running even faster than he did only moments before. He then saw why Pikachu cried out.

Serena's body was shaking. Uncontrollably. Ash stared, hesitation preventing him from taking action.

He watched with his mouth wide open in shock, a feeling of powerlessness surged throughout his body.

Serena then screamed.

"Braixen! Brai!" Braixen desperately called out to her trainer.

Serena's scream and Braixen's cries broke him out of his trance. The trainer grunted through his teeth and ran up to the bed, grabbing Serena's hand.

"Serena! Serena!" He called out desperately. "What's wrong? Please, answer me! You must be able to hear me!"

She continued to shake but Ash felt as if it was becoming less intense. The Pokemon Trainer began to wonder if his words were getting through or if he was imagining it.

"A-Ash..."

His eyes widened in pure shock at hearing her voice. He had not heard it in so long. But Ash knew one thing was more important than that.

Serena could hear him.

"Oh no..." Aliana muttered, seeing the scene herself. She had arrived only moments after the trainer. The member of staff began to tap on her Holo Caster on her wrist and after a small amount of time, it flashed and she began to speak into it. "We have an emergency in Room 306. Please come quickly!"

Ash listened to Aliana and noticed her tone of voice. At first he was worried, but remembered that Serena reacted to his voice. She even calmed down upon hearing it. Surely, it couldn't be that bad? However, Aliana was a professional doctor. Ash looked into her eyes and saw what he would describe as nothing but terror.

That was when he began to panic.

"What's wrong with her?!" Ash shouted at Aliana, now fully aware that she knew something was wrong. Pikachu, alongside Serena's Pokemon, were just as distressed, calling out to the doctor for answers too. Ash grabbed Aliana's hand and stared into her eyes, desperate for any kind of response.

Aliana bit her lip and breathed heavily, "Ash, I need you to leave the room. Take Pikachu and your friend's Pokemon with you. We can't have you in here. Go! Now!"

"What? Why?!" Ash demanded, the Pokemon around him just as confused and shocked at what Aliana was saying as well. "I'm not leaving Serena! She heard my voice! She's in pain but she heard me! I calmed her down a little! Let me keep talking to her!"

"I'm not going to repeat myself Ash. Leave now!" Aliana shouted at him.

"I'm not leaving her!" Ash shouted back.

Aliana bit harder into her lip and growled quietly at Ash's persistence. She took a deep breath and she spoke in a calm voice, "Ash, if you do not leave now... Serena will die."

Aliana's words caused the trainer to release his grip on her hand. The room was silent, aside from the small amount of noise coming from the performer's shaking.

Serena then screamed again. This time, it wasn't an ordinary scream. It was one of agony.

Ash's heavy breathing got worse and what Aliana said played on his mind once more. After noticing the doctor staring at him, he reluctantly gave in. The trainer slowly nodded towards the doctor and turned around to face the terrified Pokemon. As his body shook, he gave them a command, "Let's go."

* * *

"Brai..." Braixen said quietly, trying to get Ash's attention. The trainer was sat down on a seat outside Serena's room. Ash was staring at the cold floor, his cap hiding his face from view. The fire type tentatively grabbed his hand, but he did not react.

"Syl..." Sylveon also said, wrapping one of her feelers around the wrist of his other arm.

Ash raised his head and scanned the two Pokemon in front of him, who released their hold on the trainer after seeing him move. He wiped his watery eyes with his arm.

"Why are you two so worried about me?" He asked with curiosity and a little frustration at their persistence. "You saw her in there too... she... she's your trainer, yet..."

Pikachu hopped onto Ash's lap and gave him a large smile, "Pika, pikachu!"

"...Really?" He murmured. Pancham pulled on his trousers to get his attention and once he succeeded, he nodded several times at him with his arms crossed. The three remaining Pokemon all smiled at him. "Wow... Pokemon are so amazing." He couldn't help but chuckle.

"Ash!" The Lumiose Gym leader called out to him. Ash looked to his right and saw Clemont and Bonnie running up to him. Clemont was exhausted, while his younger sister was visibly concerned. "We came as soon as we heard what happened."

"Thanks, you guys."

"Are you alright, Ash?" Bonnie asked, approaching him and looking him dead in the eyes. "I couldn't believe it when I heard... but the doctors told us you witnessed it. That must have been really scary."

Ash placed his hand on top of the head and reassuringly rubbed her hair, "I'm alright. I'm a little shaken up, but I'll be alright."

"Have they told you what happened to Serena yet?" Clemont questioned. The Kalos native scanned Ash's face, focusing on his eyes. He closed his eyes momentarily at what he saw and quietly sighed.

Ash thought about his answer for a small amount of time before answering, "Nope. I haven't heard anything aside from that she's stable. It's been over an hour now so I'm expecting something more any second now. I think Aliana knew what was happening too; I could tell from her reaction."

"Pika..." Pikachu agreed with his trainer, giving a disappointed look as he too wanted to know more about what was happening to the Kalosian girl.

"But..." He started. "Something incredible happened in there. Serena reacted to my voice. She heard me..."

"Really?!" Bonnie reacted ecstatically. "Of course she'd hear you, Ash!"

Ash gave her a look of confusion, "W-What do you mean?"

Bonnie noticed his stutter and smirked, "Well, it's not my place to say, but don't worry about it at the moment. You'll understand eventually, hopefully."

"What are you even talking about, Bonnie?" Clemont asked his younger sister.

"Nothing, big brother! You're too dense to understand anyway." She answered, giving her older sibling a huge grin.

Ash was surprised to see Braixen laughing as silently as possible to herself. Even Pancham and Sylveon were snickering a little. He was legitimately confused at what was happening now, but he was at least happy that Serena's Pokemon were smiling still. It provided him comfort that they were still smiling despite the current circumstances.

"Anyway, you said Serena heard you, didn't you Ash?" The scientist ignored Bonnie's response, deciding to change the conversation back to what it was before. "How do you know for sure?"

"I called out to her when she was shaking. She said my name, although it was quiet." The trainer from Pallet Town answered. "It was reassuring that she actually reacted to my voice, but I really didn't like what was happening to her... she looked like she was in so much pain."

Clemont looked astonished, "She actually said your name? Hopefully that's a good sign that she'll wake up soon."

"I hope so too, Clemont." Ash replied. "Actually, I know so. She's going to wake up soon. I can feel it."

Bonnie began to engage in conversation with Ash. Meanwhile, Clemont was staring at the other side of the room. Unless his eyes were failing him, he swore he could see the slightest hint of orange hair hiding behind a column.

* * *

Aliana watched the conversation between Ash, Clemont and Bonnie take place from afar, making sure she wasn't noticed. She had her back against one a pillar on the far side of the room. After deciding her eavesdropping was done, she left.

A few minutes later, the Holo Caster attached on her arm began to beep. Aliana activated the device and saw the image of a very annoyed man.

"We have a problem." The man said, his voice just as agitated. "Alain has left Laverre City."

"And why would he do that?" Aliana responded in an uninterested tone. "Is Bryony really that useless?"

The image on the Holo Caster flickered a little and the man's face grew more angered. "Bryony told me Alain is heading to Lumiose City. She attempted to stop him but he was adamant on leaving."

"I'm surprised he left Mairin's side." She commented, a little more intrigued than before.

"That is true. I have a feeling someone has given out more information than they should have."

Aliana rolled her eyes in response, "Well, don't look at me. I have no reason to do that."

"I have an idea of who it was, but for now, keep an eye on that boy's movements. Make sure you always know where he is. If he meets with Alain, don't let him see you, as he WILL recognize you." The man explained. "Lastly, how is the girl? I was informed something... peculiar... happened to her earlier."

"It's just an unfortunate side effect. She is stable now." Aliana answered quickly.

The man looked satisfied with the answer, "Good, keep it that way."

"It really shocked the brat. You should have seen the fear in his eyes. Perhaps we can use that to our advantage."

"Perhaps we can, but for now, follow your orders. Contact me if Alain meets with the boy." The man concluded the conversation, his image disappearing from the Holo Caster. Aliana merely smiled and continued walking.

Unbeknownst to Aliana, a certain blonde haired inventor had been watching her.


	8. Heading to Lysandre Café

Ash, Clemont and Bonnie had returned to Serena's room after being given permission to enter once more. They were thankful to see she was now calm and sleeping peacefully as usual. Ash sat down beside Serena as he always did and watched her, while Bonnie played with Pikachu, Dedenne and Serena's Pokemon. Clemont had his back against the wall and was staring at the ceiling. He appeared to be distracted with a lot on his mind.

"Ash?" Bonnie said quietly in an attempt to get the trainer's attention. Ash looked up and waited for her to speak. "You said Alain is coming here, right?"

"Yeah, I asked him to." Ash answered. "We have an idea of what or who caused everything. Alain, your brother and myself will be heading out once Alain arrives."

Bonnie pouted at Ash and gave him a look of disapproval, "Why can't I come?"

"I asked him not to bring you along, Bonnie." Clemont answered in place of Ash, approaching his younger sister who looked a little hurt by his comment. "What we plan to do might be dangerous and since you only have Dedenne to protect you, you might get hurt. Besides, we need someone here to look after Serena. If she happens to wake up, we don't want her to wake up without anyone to talk to, right?"

Bonnie looked disappointed at his comment initially, but cheered up as he continued. Still, she didn't want to give in. "I was okay when Team Flare attacked Lumiose. I even helped Squishy return to normal... I can help, don't underestimate me!"

"It's not that, Bonnie. It's just... I heard about what you were doing during the crisis afterwards and it scared me as I wasn't there to protect you." Clemont explained to his sibling. "If you remain here, you'll be safe. I don't know what I would do if you were hurt and ended up not waking up either..."

"I guess so..." Bonnie muttered. She seemed more content with the idea but part of her still wanted to go, but she seemed to be giving in.

Ash stretched his arms, yawned and stood up. He gave Pikachu a nod and the electric type jumped onto his shoulder. He then started to walk towards the door, receiving curious eyes from the two Lumiose siblings. Before he stepped out of the room, he stopped and began to talk. "I'm going for a walk, I won't be long."

Neither of the two said anything. They hadn't been there with him when Serena freaked out in her sleep, so they had little idea what was building up inside him.

Bonnie sighed as he closed the door. She stood up, crossed her arms and began to grunt through her teeth. Her growling got higher in volume as time went on. "This sucks, Clemont!" She shouted at her brother. "Why can't Serena just wake up, already?!"

"Bonnie..." Clemont quietly said in response, unsure of how to respond to his sister's sudden outburst.

The young girl looked like she was about to continue, but her growling slowly turned into quiet sobs. "Why can't things just go back to normal?" She struggled through her tears.

Clemont watched, his own sorrow building up as he watched his sister cry out.

"I tried, big brother... I tried to be strong. Strong for Serena and everyone else..." Bonnie continued. Before she could continue, Clemont ran up to her and wrapped the little girl in his arms, shielding her tears from the world. "I loved going on adventures with you, Ash and Serena. I loved watching Ash win Pokemon Battles. I loved watching Serena perform. I... I even loved watching you work on your stupid inventions..."

"It's okay, Bonnie." He reassured her. "You've been really strong these past few weeks. I'm really proud of you, but it's okay to cry."

Bonnie backed away slightly, allowing her to look up at her brother. She noticed he too was tearing up a little. "I always dream about a new adventure, but since Serena got hurt those dreams have been turning into nightmares every single time. She or somebody else gets hurt and it's horrible."

The inventor watched as she wiped away the water from her eyes.

"Y'know, Clemont," She began, turning her head towards the sleeping performer. Bonnie then grinned happily, banishing away her sorrow. "I wonder if Serena is dreaming about something. If she is... I hope it's about something nice."

* * *

Ash walked in silence as he gazed around the street he was walking through. It had been damaged a little during the crisis but repairs were happening swiftly. He stopped when he walked past the window of a shop which had a beautiful red dress on display. Ash gazed it and noticed how similar it was to the dress Serena usually wore for her showcases.

"Pika, pi!" Pikachu, who was perched on his trainer's shoulder, called out suddenly. Ash scanned the area his Pokemon was pointing at and noticed the same familiar figure that Pikachu spotted.

Although Ash had met her only a few times, Ash recognized her immediately. It was Serena's mother. She seemed to be occupied with window shopping, that is, until she turned to the side and locked eyes with the trainer almost straight away. Ash stared for a few seconds before deciding to smile and wave.

Ash gulped as Grace began to approach him. "Man, this is going to be really hard, Pikachu."

"Pika..." Pikachu agreed with him.

Pikachu noticed Ash hiding his face with his cap and called out to him. What surprised the electric type was the sounds of anger and frustration coming from his trainer.

"I hate doing this, Pikachu." He confessed with a tone of frustration. "I hate telling people about what's happening to Serena. I hate seeing their sad faces."

"Pika..." The Pokemon responded, wondering what his trainer was going to say next.

"Pikachu," He began. "After this, let's head back to the hospital, pick up Clemont and wait for Alain to contact us. Once we meet with him, we'll head to Lysandre Café. If that Xerosic guy is the person responsible for all this... I... he better have a cure or something. I want to see Serena smile again."

"Chu..." The Pokemon agreed with him, before tapping Ash several times to alert him that Grace had reached him.

"Hello there, Ash!" Grace greeted him with a cheerful smile. "I'm glad to see you're safe and sound. It was both exciting and worrying to see you and my daughter on television, fighting whatever that thing was."

"Yeah, it was something, alright." Ash replied quickly. "So uh, what are you doing in Lumiose City, Serena's mom?"

She chuckled at his response, "Please, just call me Grace. I was worried about my daughter after what happened, so I came here myself."

Ash seemed puzzled by what Grace said, "Serena didn't tell you we were heading to Vaniville Town? The Lumiose airport was damaged in the attack so we decided to head to Vaniville because of that."

"Then why are you still in Lumiose City, Ash?" Grace caught him off guard with a question that made him gulp. It was then that Serena's mother knew something wasn't right. "Ash, she got hurt, didn't she?"

Ash didn't know what to say and remained silent, confirming Grace's suspicions.

What surprised Ash was how calm Serena's mother was acting. Grace placed her hands on Ash's shoulders to gain his attention and spoke to him, "Ash. You can talk to me."

"I..." He muttered, unsure how to start. "I'm sorry, she's... in a coma."

Grace's hands left Ash and she looked at him in complete and utter shock. Ash saw a tear forming in her eye and quickly figured that the woman wasn't expecting Serena to be in that sort of condition.

"Please take me to my daughter." Grace requested. Ash nodded, turned towards the direction of the hospital and walked away. Grace followed closely after.

* * *

Ash, Clemont and Bonnie were outside Serena's room. Grace had requested a moment of privacy with her daughter which no one had an issue with, but it had been a few hours since Ash had found her.

They all sat in silence, something that was starting to get common. Any sound came from Bonnie brushing Dedenne's fur. Ash was surrounded by Pikachu and Serena's Pokemon, who sat beside him. Ash felt a slight tingle on his wrist and noticed Sylveon had quietly wrapped one of her feelers around it. The fairy type looked up and stared at him. Ash gave the Pokemon a smile, which satisfied Sylveon.

A somewhat loud beeping sound then came from Clemont's direction. The inventor panicked and reached into his pocket, pulling out a device as the sound amplified. The noise stopped and the gym leader turned to Ash, "Alain is at Sycamore's lab."

Ash stood up and nodded at the inventor, "Alright, let's go."

Bonnie looked disappointed that they were leaving so soon. Clemont noticed his sister's sadness and told her she wouldn't be alone in the hospital and that they would return as soon as they could.

The two trainers began to head off, but Ash stopped when he felt a tug on his blue shirt. He turned his head and was surprised to see that Braixen was the one who had stopped him.

"Brai, Braixen. Brai!" She cried out, continuously tugging on Ash's shirt.

"You want to come along, right?" Ash questioned the Pokemon, with a slight smile added to the end of his question. Braixen nodded and pulled a determined face. "Alright, I'm fine with that."

"Dedenne, Pancham, Sylveon." Clemont called out. "Make sure my little sister doesn't get herself into trouble, okay?"

The Pokemon all acknowledged him positively while Bonnie merely pouted at him, but his attempt at teasing did make her smirk, "You're annoying, big brother." was all she could come up with.

"Bonnie, tell Serena's mother that we're heading off too." Clemont added a request. "And don't forget about what I told you earlier."

* * *

"Lysandre Café is located here." Professor Sycamore explained, pointing to a location on a map of Lumiose City. It didn't take too long for the two trainers to arrive at the professor's lab. Alain had been sat waiting for them. The greetings were brief as the three knew they had a mission to accomplish.

"Alright, let's go." Ash said, feeling determined to head off to the café as soon as possible.

Professor Sycamore rolled his eyes but couldn't help but chuckle at Ash's response, "And what are you going to do when you reach the café, Ash? What is your plan?"

"Well, uh..." Ash started. "We'll just ask for Xerosic and see if he can give us answers. With all of us three, he can't run away either."

"I don't think it'll be that simple." Alain admitted to his rival. "Xerosic is currently a wanted man. I doubt the employees even know who their boss is, otherwise somebody would have gave in and reported it to the police."

Ash thought for a moment, taking in Alain's words, but he then remembered something. "Emma's met with him before. She helps him with some experiment. If she is there, then she can take us to him." The Kanto trainer pointed out.

Alain crossed his arms, "What if she isn't?"

Ash sat down, placed his hands on his cheeks and sighed. A look of frustrated dawned on his face. "I dunno. The only thing that I know I want is for Serena to wake up."

"Emma works during the evening," Clemont started, receiving a confused expression from Ash. The trainer from Kanto was not aware of that information. "She told me this when you left the center during our conversation." The inventor answered Ash's question before he could ask it.

"By the time you get there, it'll be the early evening, so you should be fine heading off now." Sycamore added his thoughts, which received approval instantly from Ash as he wanted to head off as soon as possible anyway.

"I suggest we try to get as much information from Emma as possible. Considering she is friends with you, Ash, I think she might be able to help us." Alain provided an idea.

"Sounds like a plan." Ash responded. He turned towards Braixen, who was standing behind him and was watching the conversation take place. "You ready to head off?"

"Brai!" She responded with a proud smile.

"One more thing," Sycamore started, delaying the three trainers from heading out. "I'd like to come with you all."

"Are you sure, professor?" Alain asked in a concerned tone. "Honestly, things could get a bit ugly. That whole café could be filled with Team Flare members for all we know."

Sycamore chuckled at Alain's response, but gave him a smile of confidence after, "Don't worry. I will be fine. I'd say two Kalos League finalists, a gym leader and a professor make a pretty good team anyway. Now then, let's go."

* * *

"It's... empty?" Ash muttered in complete disbelief. The café looked like a ghost town. It had taken them a small amount of time to arrive at the café, but all four were shocked to find it completely empty. The sun was in the process of setting so it was still light out, so it made little sense for the café to look so abandoned.

Oddly enough, the door was wide open, as if they were being beckoned to come in. Several cups of unfinished coffee and tea were loitered around on several tables, indicating the place was active beforehand.

Clemont adjusted his glasses and had a look of worry on his face. "Xerosic knows we were coming."

"What makes you think that?" Alain asked, giving him a look of curiosity.

The front door of the café glowed a bright blue and then began to close. Ash ran up to the door and tried to stop it, but it closed before he could do so. He attempted to open the door, but it was locked.

Alain's expression didn't change, "Well, nevermind, then."


	9. An Unexpected Reunion

The four trainers all looked at each other, waiting for someone to say something.

Ash attempted to open the door they came through again, but no matter how much effort he put into forcing it open, it didn't work. Even with Pikachu's help, the door wouldn't budge.

"So uh, looks like we're stuck." Clemont decided to make the obvious statement after a moment of silence. "However... I had a feeling something like this would happen so I had invented something that can get us out of situations like this! Clemontic Gear, on!"

Clemont pulled out his backpack and began to pull out some sort of device. Ash and Pikachu couldn't help but chuckle while Alain and Sycamore simply stared at the inventor as he worked his magic.

Braixen sighed and pulled out her twig, setting it on fire and illuminating the room entirely. The fire type began to slowly walk around, moving her head around often so she could get an idea of what was in the building. Scanning the red themed café, Braixen noticed a smashed cup in front of a cabinet. Before she could investigate, a loud explosion caught her off guard, though once she saw what caused the explosion, she wondered why she was even surprised in the first place.

Clemont was covered in ash and smoke due to his failed invention, "...And I thought that invention would work this time..." He quietly said. Meanwhile, Ash and Pikachu couldn't help themselves from laughing.

"Man, it's been a while since we've seen one of Clemont's inventions exploded, right Pikachu?" Ash asked his partner Pokemon, who nodded his head and giggled.

Sycamore couldn't do anything but quietly laugh while Alain stared, not sure how to react to what had just happened.

"Brai, Braixen!" Serena's fire type Pokemon called out to the four trainers. Once catching their attention, she waved her stick in front of the cabinet, lighting it up and revealing that there was something behind the cabinet. Sycamore was the first to approach the piece of furniture and noticed what Braixen had found.

"A passageway." He revealed. The three remaining trainers shortly joined him and saw for themselves what Braixen had found. "Looks like Xerosic was in a hurry, since he left this passageway slightly exposed." The professor moved to the side of the cabinet and slowly pushed it, revealing more of the hidden passageway.

"Well, looks like we know what to do." Ash commented with a determined look, a look also shared by Pikachu.

Sycamore rubbed Braixen's head and smiled at her, "Great work there, Braixen. You saved us a lot of precious time."

"Brai!" Braixen responded positively, enjoying the appraise from the professor who looked after her before she met her trainer.

The first to head down through the passage were Ash, Pikachu and Braixen, shortly followed by the remaining. The hidden pathway was dark, but thanks to Braixen they were able to see where they were going. Eventually, light was seen at the end of the tunnel and the four in a large lit room.

What they saw in the room astonished all of them.

In the center of the room was a girl with her back towards the group, but her appearance, height and hairstyle immediately indicated who this girl was to the group. The girl turned around, gently holding her blue ribbon with her hand as she opened her mouth and spoke.

"Hey, everyone."

It was Serena.

"Braixen!" Braixen immediately ran towards her trainer, gripping her in a tight hug.

"I've missed you too, Braixen." Serena calmly told the fire type, gently stroking her head.

Alain, Clemont and Sycamore stared in complete disbelief at what they were seeing. This was definitely not what they were expecting when they entered this secret facility.

Ash stared with his mouth wide open, before he slowly walked towards his companion and looked into her eyes. "Serena, is... is that really you?"

"Pika, pika!"

Serena giggled at Ash's response, "Of course it's me, Ash. I'm sure you all have a lot of questions for me, don't you?"

"Y-Yeah..." Clemont stuttered, unsure what else he could add to that answer.

"S-Serena..." Ash quietly said, but loud enough for the Kalos girl in front of him to hear. A small tear escaped from one of his eyes. "I... I don't know what's going on right now, but I'm... I'm so happy to see you!"

Serena smiled at Ash's answer and stared into his glistening eyes. Braixen finally let go of her trainer, but as soon as the fox Pokemon let go, Serena was quickly tackled by none other than Ash himself.

Serena gasped in shock and could hear Ash mumbling something under his breath. The performer wrapped her arms around the trainer and patted his back, "I'm really happy to see you too, Ash. But... now I need to tell you all about how I'm awake all of a sudden. I'm sure you all want to know."

Alain suddenly flinched, a movement quickly noticed by Sycamore who looked in the trainer's general direction. Walking towards them was none other than Xerosic, with two of the Flare scientists who participated in the attack on Lumiose City following behind him. Ash and Clemont soon noticed and the former let go of his companion, standing in front of her with his arm defensively stretched out in front of her.

Serena calmly grabbed Ash's arm and pulled it down, "Ash, it's okay. They're... friends."

"Friends?" Sycamore questioned.

"Yes, indeed we are." Xerosic answered in a confident tone. "Welcome to Lysandre Labs. This is a facility which served as a backup for our main laboratory in north western Kalos, which... unfortunately got destroyed by the megalith. I've been here ever since the attack on Lumiose City."

"They heard about what had happened to me and with Xerosic's brilliant mind, he managed to wake me up!" Serena explained very cheerfully. Ash's eyes glimmered and his small grew massive.

"Brilliant mind...?" Clemont asked, a little surprised at what his friend had said.

Serena noticed the inventor looking a little down at the comment and gave him a reassuring smile, "Don't worry, Clemont. I think you're definitely smarter, this was just Xerosic's field, that's all."

"Why the change of heart, Xerosic?" Alain questioned the scientist. The trainer wasn't convinced that Xerosic had suddenly turned over a new leaf all of a sudden. "After all, you had a large role in the attack on Lumiose City, assisting with the director's horrible plans."

"I helped Lysandre as I shared his dream of wanting to change the world. You may consider his ambitions horrible, but I agreed that this world is ugly. However, since then, I have decided to help change the world my own way." He answered Alain's question. He stepped back so the group could focus on the two woman beside him. "Celosia and Mable here are also helping me with my new plan."

Sycamore glared at the scientist, "What do you mean by new plan?"

"This world is ugly, but there is little I can do about that now. However, illnesses are something that contribute to making this world horrid." The Team Flare scientist continued. "Before Team Flare was formed, we helped people by creating new cures for their diseases. However, people got too used to our help and made obnoxious demands. Although I am returning to helping people, I am only taking care of the most serious of cases and I am doing it subtly."

Ash recognized what Xerosic was talking about. It was exactly what Lysandre had said to him and Alain. However, this time, Xerosic seemed to generally want to help.

"I don't believe a word you're saying," Clemont started. "Too much doesn't add up. Why were we locked in the café earlier, for example?"

Xerosic smiled at the boy's comment, "That was my Malamar. I wanted you all to come to me so you would be surprised about your friend being woken up from her coma."

"Right..." Clemont replied, although he wasn't convinced at all.

Serena approached the scientist and gave him a smile, "It's okay, Clemont. Xerosic is a good man, he did help me wake up after all."

"Y-yes, but..." The Lumiose scientist murmured, trying to think of something to say quickly.

"What about Mairin?!" Alain suddenly shouted at the Flare scientist, diverting the conversation to himself.

Xerosic stared into his eyes and smiled, "The name of the doctor overseeing Mairin's case is Bryony. She is in fact, a Team Flare scientist, and she has been working on waking her up."

"W-What?" Alain said, shocked by the pale man's answer.

"It's the same with Aliana." Serena began. "She's also a Flare scientist and she has been working to wake me up. Today, she succeeded!"

Ash looked shocked at the revelation, while Clemont didn't seem phased in the slightest.

"Mairin is in the final stage of our cure. You will be reunited with her in a matter of days, Alain." Xerosic concluded. Alain couldn't help but slowly smile. He realized that Serena being present was proof that they were telling the truth after all.

"Ash, Clemont, Alain, Professor Sycamore," Serena started, catching all their attention after she called out their names. "You are free to stay here tonight. The labs have several spare rooms. Xerosic says I can't leave yet as he wants to do some final tests to make sure I'm fully alright."

"Of course we'll stay, Serena!" Ash cheerfully replied.

"I hate to admit it... but I'm convinced." Sycamore confessed. He turned to Xerosic and crossed his arms. "I have not forgiven you for the atrocities you committed during the attack on Lumiose and I doubt I ever will, but... it seems you are truly atoning for your actions, so... I must give thanks when credit is due."

The purple haired scientist, named Celosia, took a few steps forward, "Ash and Clemont. Please come with me and I will take you to your room. It is next to Serena's room so you will be able to catch up shortly."

Next was the blue haired scientist, named Mable, who instead approached Alain and Sycamore. "Likewise, I will take you to the room next to the one Mairin will be entering shortly. Please follow me."

Ash, Alain and Sycamore were quick to follow their respective escorts, but Clemont remained motionless. Xerosic noticed this and the two locked eyes for a brief amount of time. Clemont sighed and started to walk, speeding up over time to catch up to Ash, Serena and Celosia.

Xerosic watched as the gym leader left and smiled.

* * *

"Can you believe it, Clemont?" Ash excitedly asked. The two trainers had been escorted to their room and Ash was happy to finally rest. They had arrived in their room in only a matter of minutes, although they had to move through several corridors and if it wasn't for their escort, they would have certainly got lost. Clemont was sat on one of the beds and wasn't listening to what his friend was saying, which was quickly noticed by the other trainer in the room. "Clemont?"

The inventor looked at Ash and blinked several times, registering that he was being talked to, "H-Huh? Oh, sorry Ash, I was just thinking." He stuttered.

"Thinking about what?" Ash questioned. His eyes suddenly widen and he happily grinned. "Is it about science? What are you gonna invent next then?"

Clemont quietly laughed at Ash's response. "Y-Yeah... it's about science... well I can't say what I'm gonna do next, it's a secret."

"Alright then. Anyway, when we wake up, hopefully Serena should be allowed to leave this place," Ash started as he got dressed into his night gear. "Then we can go pick up Bonnie and we're all going to be together again. I can't wait!"

"Me neither, Ash." Clemont said with a faint smile.

"Clemont." Ash called, now lying in bed staring at the ceiling. "I've... never been this happy before, I think. I've felt so down the past few weeks... then I saw Serena awake again. She's back and... I'm just so excited. I want to see her right now but they won't let us in unfortunately. But... I know when I wake up she'll be there and everything's gonna be how it used to be."

The Lumiose gym leader listened carefully as Ash spoke. He too was now in his own bed facing the trainer as he explained how he was feeling.

"Sorry, I rambled a bit there." Ash turned towards and apologized to his companion.

"That's alright, Ash." Clemont said with a smile. He reached up and turned out the light, cloaking the two trainers in darkness. "Anyway, I think it's best we get a good night's sleep."

"Yeah, I agree. Good night." The trainer from Kanto replied, yawning after he finished speaking.

"Pika!" The electric type agreed.

Clemont smiled and wished the duo a good sleep as well. He gazed at the ceiling despite the room being completely dark and his smile slowly turned into a frown.

The young trainer waited very patiently, refusing to sleep but giving enough time for Ash and Pikachu to fall into their slumber. Once convinced enough time had passed, he slowly got out of bed and changed into his usual gear as quietly as possible. He approached the door to their room, being careful not to disturb the slumbering Braixen who was sleeping at the base of Ash's bed. Once at the door, he slowly turned the knob, peeking through the small light in the crack as he gently opened the door. After mustering some additional confidence, Clemont slipped out of the room.

* * *

 **I feel obliged to mention the events of XY &Z47. I don't think anyone quite expected that at all! I'm not going to spoil it in case anyone hasn't seen it (although I think every AmourShipping fan has definitely heard about it), but the episode as a whole was incredible, especially that specific scene. What a way to end the series. I'm going to miss you, XY.**


	10. Eavesdropping

Clemont crept quietly through the corridor outside his and Ash's room. Serena's own room was supposedly close to theirs and he shortly noticed a door nearby on the opposite side of the corridor. He took a few more steps before the sound of footsteps that were not his own startled him. The inventor froze as a man in a red suit came into view after taking the nearby corner. The man stopped and stared Clemont in the face for a few seconds.

"H-hey!" He shouted suddenly at the Lumiose gym leader. "Why are you not in your room? You should be sleeping right now!"

Clemont recognized who this man was, or at least the outfit he was wearing. He was a Team Flare Grunt. Everything about him was red, from his hair to the outfit he was wearing.

"I was going for a walk." He answered with a quickly made up lie.

"G-Go back to your room." The grunt ordered, although his voice came out nervous despite trying to raise it, which the gym leader noticed.

Clemont reached into his pocket and pulled out a Poke Ball, "Luxray come on out!"

The Gleam Eyes Pokemon materialized into existence and glared at the Flare grunt, who looked intimidated by the electric type.

"H-Houndour!" He stuttered, getting ready to send out his own Pokemon. "I need your help!"

Clemont watched as the dark type also appeared, initiating the start of the battle. Unlike his trainer, the Houndour did not seem too frightened by the electric type standing before him. Clemont pushed his glasses up and smirked, "Luxray, Wild Charge!"

Luxray was suddenly illuminated in a sparkling light as electricity crackled around him. The Pokemon leaped from its feet and charged the dark type, striking it within a second. The Dark Pokemon was launched into a nearby wall immediately, knocking it out in one hit.

The Team Flare grunt quickly recalled his Pokemon and began to make a run for it. However, his opponent had anticipated such an action.

Clemont quickly reached into his backpack and pulled out a circular object, throwing it at where the grunt was running too. The sphere soon opened up revealing a large net that successfully caught the grunt in his tracks and forced him to the ground. He walked up to the grunt and closed his mouth with sticky tape. Clemont felt a little bad preventing the man from moving and speaking, but he had to make sure the grunt couldn't escape or cry for help.

Satisfied that his opponent wouldn't be able to do anything more, Clemont approached Serena's room and opened the door.

The gym leader peered into the room and found a single bed identical in size and appearance to their own. Other than there being one less bed, the layout of the room was the exact same as their own. More importantly, it was completely empty. Serena was nowhere to be found. Clemont left the room and sighed, a little unsure what to do next, but then he remembered the Pokemon he had just used in battle that was by his side.

"Luxray, can you see if you can find anything of interest?" Clemont asked the Pokemon he met as a young boy.

"Lux, Luxray." Luxray answered with a nod. The electric type's eyes began to glow brightly and he moved his head and body around frequently. After a few minutes of patient waiting, the Pokemon's eyes returned to normal and he nodded at his trainer.

"Alright, thank you. Lead the way." The inventor gave his order. Luxray nodded once more and took off.

Clemont followed his Pokemon, heading through countless corridors and taking many turns. The facility they were in was like a maze. The gym leader was thankful that he had a Pokemon that was capable of scanning the whole environment by his side.

Luxray suddenly stopped in front of a glass window, moving out of the way several seconds later so Clemont could see through it. Through the window the inventor saw a massive room down below that was multiple times bigger than the first room they were in when they reunited with Serena. Numerous machines and all kinds of equipment were scattered around the area and dozens of Team Flare Grunts were also present, all lined up neatly.

Clemont saw Xerosic in front of them with his hands behind his back, but what caught his eye the most was the armored person next to him. Whoever this person was, they were wearing armor as dark as night. As the Lumiose gym leader got a better look at the armor, he noticed the helmet had a golden visor, but he was too far away to see who was wearing this armor. He made sure to take note of this mysterious person.

Xerosic cleared his throat as loud as he could, drawing all attention to him. Some of the grunts were in mid-conversation but all of them had stopped instantly and were now facing their leader.

"Welcome to the Neo Team Flare Headquarters." The Team Flare scientist greeted the grunts. Although he was not in the room, Clemont could still make out what he was saying. "You are the second wave of initiates who have answered our call and paid our required price. For that, I am eternally grateful and I am certain our partnership will help save this world."

"...Second wave?" Clemont repeated to himself. That explained the first grunt he saw. He was definitely new to the team and didn't know how to quite handle his encounter with Lumiose's well known scientist.

"Currently, we have four very important people in our guest bedrooms. The first two are Ash Ketchum and Alain, the top 2 trainers of the Kalos League. They are exceptional trainers. We then have Clemont, the Lumiose Gym Leader, and Professor Sycamore, one of the most gifted professors in the entire Kalos region. With their help, we will usher this world in a new reign of prosperity and beauty."

"With our help?" The eavesdropper muttered. Clemont bought his right hand to his chin and tried to think about what Xerosic was talking about. What kind of lies were they going to be told in order to get them to help him?

"Here is what one of them looks like." Xerosic said with a smirk.

Clemont felt the air leave his lungs as the floor above him suddenly vanished. He and Luxray fell instantly and found themselves sliding down a dark tunnel that made the inventor feel sick.

The Team Flare Grunts watched with curiosity and astonishment as part of the nearby wall opened and the gym leader himself was thrown out into the center of the room.

"Malamar, catch them!" Xerosic shouted, releasing the psychic type who immediately channeled his psychic energy and caught the trainer and Pokemon before they could land. Malamar maintained its focus, leaving the two immobilized.

Xerosic howled with laughter. "That was very rude of you to eavesdrop, gym leader Clemont." He said in a mocking voice.

"Xerosic! What are you planning?!" Clemont demanded an answer.

"I have no obligation to tell you anything, but I must give you credit for being the only one smart enough to see through my lies." Xerosic said. "I knew Ash and Alain would buy my story as their precious girlfriends were supposedly being helped by us, but I was surprised the professor gave in too. However, I knew you would never believe me. I set up many traps in this facility that can be activated whenever I want them to, so I waited until my tracking device revealed you were in the middle of one of these traps."

"How...?" He questioned. Xerosic laughed once more and walked up to the gym leader, who was still trapped in Malamar's Psychic attack but was close enough to the ground for Xerosic to pinch something off of his bag. Clemont looked into his pale hand and indeed saw a device that blinked every few seconds.

He had been outsmarted.

"And now, Clemont of Lumiose City, you belong to me. Welcome to Neo Team Flare." The vile scientist laughed. Xerosic watched as two Flare Grunts pulled in what looked like a mechanical cannon, which made Clemont gulp. They aimed it at him and Xerosic pulled the lever by the side.

Clemont and Luxray were consumed by bright red energy and they felt nothing but pain.

Xerosic laughed.

* * *

Pikachu and Braixen stared at Ash. The latter was not able to stay still in his sleep and his breathing was loud and worrying. Pikachu hopped close to him and saw he was sweating buckets.

The two Pokemon had gone to sleep, but they were awakened by Clemont leaving the room. They weren't sure whether to follow him and they were almost going to when they heard the sound of battle outside, but Ash's heavy breathing caught their attention and they decided to stay.

"Brai?" Braixen questioned in a worrying voice.

"Pika, pi..." Pikachu muttered, his ears lowering as he spoke. It was clear to them that Ash was having a nightmare, but they weren't sure if it was right to wake him or not.

The electric type shouted in shock when Ash's hands suddenly grabbed him and brought him closer to his trainer. Pikachu tried to wiggle his way out as Ash squeezed him, causing him a lot of discomfort, but Ash's grip was too strong.

"Pika... CHU!" Pikachu screamed, unleashing a bolt of electricity that also made Ash scream. Braixen brought her hands to her mouth and cried out, worried for the trainer and his Pokemon.

Ash had now fallen out of bed and on his front. He was mumbling something but the two were unable to hear what he was saying. After a few seconds, the trainer got on his knees and slowly stood up. He turned around and glared at Pikachu. "What's the big idea, Pikachu? What did you do that for?!"

"Pika, Pikachu, Pi." Pikachu quickly said, moving his hands in front of him and explaining that he had no choice.

"Oh... right." Ash sat back down and placed his elbows on his legs. His head then rested on his hands and he remained quiet.

"Brai?" Braixen approached him and gently placed her hand on his knee, trying to get a reaction out of the silent trainer. She wasn't a fan of the usually optimistic trainer being so silent, but he had an excuse before. However, this time, her trainer was back and she had no idea what could be bugging him.

"I had a nightmare." He confessed. "I've been having these a lot recently, but this one was different... totally different. It felt too real. Did... did I look bad?"

Pikachu laid on his body and dramatically moved from side to side, muttering from time to time. Braixen giggled a little before the electric type sat up and saw the weird look Ash was giving him. Ash slowly smiled and giggled alongside the fire type Pokemon.

"Well, I guess that's one way to explain it. Sorry you two had to see that." He apologized. The trainer looked around in the room and saw the bed next to his was empty. "Where's Clemont?"

"Brai, Braixen Brai..." Braixen explained, telling Ash that Clemont had left the room.

"That's strange, I wonder why he left." Ash said, scratching his hair.

"Pika..." Pikachu agreed, he too was curious to why the inventor had left shortly after they had gone to sleep.

Ash Ketchum stood up and dug into his bag, pulling out his usual Kalos clothing and began to put them on. "Well, I think we should go look for him. What do you two say?"

Pikachu and Braixen agreed. Pikachu hopped onto his shoulder as he finished getting dressed and the latter walked beside him as they left the room.

Ash then noticed an open door near to their room. He remembered that the Team Flare scientist, Celosia, had told them not enter the room. The room that belonged to Serena.

He had questioned why, but Serena answered his question himself saying she needed to rest in peace and quiet and that they could visit her in the morning.

But it wouldn't hurt to check on her now, especially since the door was oddly opened.

The trainer was about to enter, but bumped heads with somebody who was about to exit the room at the same time

"O-Ow!" He complained, rubbing his forehead quickly. He reopened his eyes and saw Serena staring at him with a frown on her face. "You have one strong forehead, Serena, that really hurt." He chuckled.

Serena continued to stare at him and said nothing.

"Serena?" He asked, sensing something was wrong. "Are you okay? I didn't hurt you, did I?"

The performer then suddenly pushed him out of the room and closed the door.

Ash blinked several times in confusion, recovering from the surprisingly strong force of the push. Pikachu were startled at what the Kalosian girl had just done.

Ash ran up to the door and attempted to open it, but found it locked. He knocked on the door several times. "Serena! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to do that! Please don't be mad at me, okay? I just wanted to check on you!"

There was no response. Ash sighed.

"Do you have any idea what's up with her, Braixen?" He asked Serena's first Pokemon, who shrugged her shoulders. She too had no explanation for what had happened either. "I... I guess I should try to apologize to her again in the morning... I think... I feel really bad to be honest."

"Pika, pi." The electric type then reminded Ash that they had set out to look for Clemont.

"Oh yeah, we should find him." Ash said, turning around only to see a Team Flare Grunt by the wall wiggling around in a net trying desperately to escape. "I... have no idea what is going on anymore."


	11. The Counterattack

Ash wasn't sure what to do with the grunt. On the one hand, he was a member of Team Flare so he was unsure whether to trust him, but on the other hand, the situation the suited man was in didn't look pleasant at all.

Then he recalled the sticky tape. Ash would be able to get some much needed answers if he removed it. The Kanto trainer approached the tied up grunt and slowly removed the sticky tape to avoid causing the grunt any pain.

"T-thank you!" The grunt blurted out immediately. "Please, just untie me. I don't want to be put of this organisation anymore!"

Ash crossed his arms and stared at the man, "Alright, but who tied you up?"

"You're Ash Ketchum right?" The man asked before answering his question. "Your friend, Clemont, found me and tied me up after I tried to stop him leaving."

"Right..." Ash replied. He wondered why Clemont would do that in the first place. It did seem a little extreme. "Do you know where he went?"

"He went that way." The Team Flare member nodded towards the direction behind the trainer. "Now, please, just untie me so I can go home! I don't want to be part of Team Flare anymore!"

"Team Flare?" Ash repeated. "I thought it was just Xerosic and those two scientists. If Team Flare is back... are they a good organisation now?"

"I... don't know. I thought it was, which is why I signed up in the first place, but I'm not so sure anymore." The man gave his honest opinion. He looked up and the Kalos League finalist staring at him still. The grunt believed the trainer wasn't satisfied with his answer and wanted more information. "Well, our leader, Xerosic, says we are all going to make the world beautiful, but I'm doubting if he really means that. That's all I know, I swear! He didn't tell us anymore, now please untie me!"

Ash sighed and gave it, advancing to the grunt and gently untying him. The man got to his feet, bowed slightly and gave thanks before running off. Ash hoped his decision wouldn't come back to haunt him, but he believed the grunt's words.

"Braixen?" The fox-like Pokemon tugged on his shirt, attempting to get his attention.

"You're worried about Serena, right?" Ash questioned, gazing at the door to the room she was in. He started to realize that her behavior was odd. "I... hope Team Flare didn't do anything bad to her."

"Pika, pikachu, pi!" Pikachu yelled, his cheeks crackling with small bursts of electricity.

Ash smiled at his starter's determination. "That's right. Let's find Clemont and get to the bottom of this!"

The group of three turned around and began walking forward. This was the direction the inventor had supposedly gone when he had battled the grunt. It wasn't long before they saw a wall straight ahead and were given the option to head left or right.

Ash stopped and wondered which direction to take. Suddenly, a burst of blue light emerged from his pocket and materialized into the shape of a Pokemon. Ash was aware that some of his Pokemon would come out of their Poke Balls on their own, but only when they knew they were desperately needed.

The Pokemon standing before them placed his hands together and bowed slightly.

"Brai!" Serena's starter greeted the Pokemon who she had known since it was just a Froakie.

"Greninja, do you think you can help us?" Ash asked, but he knew the answer already.

Greninja walked up to his trainer and nodded. "Greninja!" The water type responded enthusiastically.

Ash smirked and nodded back, "Alright. Well, something isn't right here. Clemont is missing, something is wrong with Serena and Xerosic has revived Team Flare. We have no choice but to be even more stronger!" The two simultaneously raised their arms and gripped tightly. Greninja's eyes shined a bright red before he was surrounded by a massive veil of water.

Greninja's appearance began to alter to resemble his trainer; the torrent of aquatic energy soon morphed into a large shuriken made out of water that connected to his back. Greninja opened its eyes and once again nodded at Ash. He had successfully turned into Ash-Greninja, a transformation which had its name coined by Bonnie.

The two shared an enhanced vision as they stared at the wall. Far into the distance they saw glowing, red energy that was familiar to both of them. It was the same energy that they had used to pinpoint Chespie's location in the Megalith during Team Flare's assault.

"Pikachu and Braixen, follow us."

"Greninja, nin, ninja."

The two spoke simultaneously, giving orders to the electric and fire type. Ash and Greninja took off, focused on getting to that red energy as soon as possible. Pikachu and Braixen somewhat struggled to keep up with their speed as they were taking turns so fast it was as if they knew the maze-like facility by heart.

They eventually stopped in front of a massive red door with Team Flare's emblem imprinted on it. Pikachu and Braixen caught up to them a few seconds later and were a little exhausted from the running, but were ready to continue.

"Alright, Greninja, use Water Shuriken!" Ash gave his order. Greninja responded before he could even finish his sentence, slicing the door in two. It quickly fell apart, revealing the room ahead. The trainer and the three Pokemon looked ahead and saw nothing but darkness ahead, but knew they all had to enter.

Once they were all in, the lights suddenly turned on.

Ahead of them were countless amounts of Team Flare Grunts, all lined up and staring at the trainer. Behind them was Xerosic, the new leader of Team Flare after Lysandre's demise. Then Ash saw who was standing at Xerosic's side. Clemont. Although he was relieved to see him safe, he wondered why the inventor was next to Team Flare's new leader.

Ash noticed Serena was also there. For the first time in his life, her smile actually scared him a little. Something about her was not right.

"Welcome, Ash Ketchum." Xerosic greeted him with open arms. "I am going to make this simple and sweet. Join Team Flare. Your friends here made the wise decision already."

Ash said nothing.

The grunts moved, creating a pathway between Ash and Xerosic. Serena began to approach Ash, her face not moving an inch as she walked. Ash flinched when she stopped in front of him.

"Ash," she started. "I know you're really confused right now. I admit, Xerosic did hide things from you and the others, but we didn't want to... overwhelm you, I suppose."

Ash was staring at her and made no form of movement as Serena spoke. His eyes briefly glanced towards the water Pokemon beside him and the vision in his eyes shifted to the enhanced view the two were able to share when they were connected. Ash's breathing became heavy.

The performer gave him a look of irritation, but softened her expression shortly after. "Ash, please listen to me. Just... come with us. It's going to be okay. Do you not trust me?"

Greninja glared at her.

"Ash..." She quietly said, reaching out to grab the Kanto trainer's hand.

"Do it." Ash said under his breath. The trainer closed his eyes.

Serena's eyes suddenly widened in complete shock and she gasped as her body was forced off of its feet.

In front of Ash was Greninja with a blade of water attached to his hand. The blade of water that had just struck the Kalosian girl.

Some of the Team Flare Grunts panicked as the performer was sent flying in their direction. They quickly dispersed as Serena landed fiercely on the ground. Ash then watched her body spasm. Electricity began to uncontrollably crackle through her body as she stood up with a look of anger on her face.

Serena was surrounded by a bright light and her figure changed. In a matter of seconds, what was once Serena was a taller, more slim person wearing armor as dark as night. The visor on their helmet shined brightly as the sparks of electricity stopped leaking.

"Oh dear," Xerosic chuckled. "Looks like your Greninja figured it out your darling Serena was actually my beloved Essentia."

"I figured it out too." Ash corrected him. "Through our vision, I saw that wasn't actually Serena."

The Flare scientist shrugged his shoulders, not too interested in what Ash had said, "Well, it doesn't matter. You may have broken Essentia's disguise, but you will still surrender to me."

"I will NEVER surrender!" The determined trainer shouted at him. "And I will never forgive you for impersonating Serena like that!"

Xerosic howled with his obnoxious laughter, "Oh, aren't you precious? Your little friend is still in a coma. Perhaps once I've dealt with you... I'll pay her a visit."

"Don't you dare touch her!" Ash yelled at him.

Xerosic continued to laugh. "Neo Team Flare, this trainer is trying to take us down. There are several dozens of you and only one of him. He will not prevent us from restoring this world to its former beauty! So... take him out!"

"Yes, sir!" All the grunts said in union. Ash watched as they all released their companions, covering the room in all sorts of Pokemon who were ready to fight.

"Talonflame, Hawlucha, Noivern!" The trainer in blue cried out, chucking three Poke Balls into the air simultaneously. "I need your help!"

The three flying types were all eager to help out and fight. All sorts of Pokemon began to charge the group. Greninja jumped in front of everyone, preparing to force most of the attackers on him.

A Poochyena jumped and attempted to bite Pikachu, but the electric type quickly dashed out of the way and struck back with an Electro Ball ordered by his trainer, sending the dark type flying into several other Pokemon.

"Noivern, use Boomburst!" Ash commanded. The flying type unleashed a supersonic wave towards a large quantity of Pokemon, successfully striking several of them and preventing them from assaulting the group.

"Zubat, Poison Fang!" one of the grunts ordered. Ash detected quickly that the Zubat was aiming for Braixen, but Greninja stepped in front of the fire type and threw a Water Shuriken at the Bat Pokemon.

"Brai!" Braixen thanked the Ninja Pokemon, adding a graceful bow towards the end of her thanks. Greninja nodded and jumped away to assist another member of the group. Braixen stepped forward, pulled out her stick and twirled it around, setting the branch ablaze. A massive burst of fire emerged from the stick heading straight towards a large group of Pokemon. The flames soon split into five equally large blasts hitting several unsuspecting opponents.

"Great Fire Blast, Braixen!" Ash complimented, to which the fire type cheered happily at hearing. The Kalos League finalist stared in front of him and saw half of the enemy Pokemon already knocked out. The majority of the remaining Pokemon were looking intimidated, but a few of the tough ones were still eager to fight back. An Electrike and a Houndoom charged the group, the two ready to their electricity and fire. "Hawlucha, Flying Press! Talonflame, Flame Charge!" Ash ordered.

The two flying types soared into the battlefield. Hawlucha spun and collided with the Houndoom before it could unleash its Flamethrower. The nearby Electrike, stunned by its opponent falling so easily, was hit by the blazing bird only seconds later.

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt! Greninja, Water Shuriken!" Ash gave one final order. Pikachu and Greninja prepared their abilities and let loose their attacks simultaneously, causing the shuriken to be electrified by Pikachu's power. Just as the two opposing Pokemon got back onto their feet, they were sliced by the shuriken, causing them to faint almost instantly.

"Imbeciles!" Xerosic shouted. "There's so many of you and only a few of them! How are you all battling so poorly?!"

Some of the grunts were frightened by their leader's words and hastily ordered their own Pokemon to attack, but the trainer from Kanto was proving too much for them.

Xerosic growled and turned to his side, "Clemont, I need you to-"

The scientist paused and blinked several times. He then growled with frustration. The Kalos Gym Leader was nowhere to be found.

"Xerosic!" Ash yelled at his opponent, drawing all attention to him. "Lysandre tried to hurt this world, its people and all its Pokemon. I know now that you're trying to do the same! It is for that reason that I cannot let you get away with whatever you have planned!"

"Pika!" Pikachu agreed. The rest of Ash's Pokemon stood ready.

The Flare scientist grunted through his teeth and reached into his pockets. "Crobat, Malamar, deal with this pest!" Xerosic threw his Poke Balls. He then glared at Essentia, who hadn't budged an inch since his or her's true form had been revealed. "You're going to help me as well, Essentia!"

Xerosic's two Pokemon materialized into existence and were ready to receive their trainer's orders. However, before Xerosic could give those orders, two large shouts distracted everyone.

"Charizard, Flamethrower!"

"Garchomp, Dragon Claw!"

Ash turned around and saw a mega evolved Charizard and Garchomp soar over them at incredible speeds. He faced Xerosic once again and saw the two dragon types simultaneously attack Xerosic's Pokemon.

"What?!" Team Flare's leader screamed in astonishment. He coughed several times as the smoke caused by the attacks cleared, revealing his Crobat and Malamar had been severely hurt by the unexpected attack.

Ash grinned happily as he saw none other than Alain and Sycamore run towards him.

"Ash! You're not hurt, are you?" Sycamore questioned the trainer. "We heard the commotion and saw the battle taking place through a window, so we got here as quickly as possible."

"I'm fine." Ash answered. "Thanks for helping."

"Alain?! The professor?!" Xerosic blurted out. The pale man looked visibly shocked at what he was seeing. "Why does nobody stay asleep?!"

"Xerosic! We may not know your plan, but it heavily relied on us believing your lies!" Alain yelled at Team Flare's new leader. "The professor and I never did, we just convinced you that we did so you would let your guard down." Alain explained the plan he and the professor had came up with.

"We would never believe someone who had caused so much harm to this world." Sycamore added.

Their enemy curled his hand into a fist and clenched it tightly. Sweat dripped from his face as he grunted. However, he suddenly smiled after a few seconds.

"Essentia, come with me. We have something we need to defend." Xerosic quietly said to the armored person close to him. "Celosia, Mable! Get out here and deal with this pests!" He then shouted.

Right on cue, the two female scientists emerged from the shadows behind him. "Here we are." Celosia giggled.

"Make sure you do NOT let them past this room, got it?" He barked at them. Mable sighed at their leader's annoying tone and slowly nodded. Xerosic turned towards the grunts. "As for the rest of you, if you have a usable Pokemon, then help the scientists! As for the rest of you... well, you're useless!"

Xerosic began to run towards the back of the room, stopping in front of the wall before he began to tap on it, something that Ash found odd. Part of the wall suddenly opened and the scientist headed through it, shortly followed by Essentia. This new door then began to close and Ash realized this was his chance.

He thanked Hawlucha, Noivern and Talonflame for their assistance and recalled them, before charging forward with Pikachu, Braixen and Greninja by his side. Several of the grunts attempted to stop the trainer, but they were too slow. Ash made sure to avoid all the kinds of equipment in his way as he ran. Celosia and Mable watched the thorn in Team Flare's side and pulled out their Poke Balls, but a Flamethrower that purposely struck in front of them distracted them.

"You are battling us!" Alain said with a raised fist.

Ash turned his head and grinned at his rival, "Thanks Alain!"

"Good luck, Ash!" Sycamore shouted with a wave. The two scientists rolled their eyes and decided to divert all their attention to Alain and Sycamore.

Ash nodded and headed into the closing door, followed closely by the three Pokemon with him. They found themselves traveling down a long flight of stairs that seemed almost endless. They were heading deeper into Lysandre Labs.


	12. Plan B

Bonnie was sat with her head placed on her hand. The girl had been sat patiently for an hour and she was struggling to keep her eyes open. Sat next to Bonnie was Pancham, who was fast asleep with his mouth wide open, that is until the girl next to him drifted into a sleep and fell onto the fighting type. Pancham yelped and struggled to free himself from the young girl after being rudely awakened. The Playful Pokemon's movement woke the girl up quickly and she rose, freeing the Pokemon from his suffering.

"Sorry about that," she apologized to Serena's second Pokemon. Bonnie gazed at the closed door that would lead to Serena's room. "Serena's mom has been in there for a while. I get why, but I wish she would let us in too."

"Nene..." Dedenne agreed, poking its head out of Bonnie's bag.

"Pan, Pancham..." Pancham muttered, scratching its head. Sylveon, who was nearby, quietly giggled and wrapped her feelers around the fighting type, making him relax almost instantaneously. He yawned happily.

Bonnie hopped off her seat and approached the door. She took a deep breath and gently knocked on the door several times. She had done this a few times already and was ignored, so she wasn't expecting much. She received no answer and was about to give up once again, but this time the door was opened.

"Hi, Bonnie." Grace greeted with a wave. "Sorry for not answering earlier. I needed time to process everything."

"That's okay." Bonnie accepted her apology, having figured out why the mother needed some privacy. "Is it okay if I come in?"

Grace grinned at the girl in front of her, "Of course you can."

Pancham and Sylveon raised their head upon hearing a positive answer. The two stood up and walked towards the door, entering alongside Clemont's young sister.

Serena was still sleeping, but Bonnie noticed a pink bow had been tied to her head. It was the same pink bow she wore when she was in her sleeping gear and the blonde girl never realized it was missing. It made her smile.

Grace sat on a nearby chair while the much younger girl sat gently on the bed. They sat in silence, but Bonnie was at least glad to be back in the room.

"Bonnie," Grace broke the silence after some time. The blonde girl looked up. "What's your dream?"

"My dream?" She replied, looking a little caught off guard. "Well... my dream is to become a Pokemon Trainer."

"That's a nice dream." Serena's mother responded with a smile. "You don't have to wait that long then."

"Yeah, I can't wait!" Bonnie said with enthusiasm. "I want to become a great Pokemon Trainer. I'm gonna beat my brother in the gym, I'm gonna defeat Ash and Pikachu in a battle and I even want to try performing and look as beautiful as Serena does when she performs!"

"That's sweet." Grace said, continuing her smile for a small moment. It then abruptly vanished. "Has your journey so far been dangerous?"

"A little, I guess, but it's been really fun so I don't-"

"A little?" The Rhyhorn racer interrupted her with a tone of curiosity.

"Well, Team Rocket attack us a lot, but to be honest, they don't really ever hurt us. It can be a little fun at times to chase them down, although it's mostly really annoying." Bonnie explained, pouting at the thought of dealing with another Team Rocket encounter. "We also had Team Flare. They were more dangerous. They wanted to end the world and they were really crazy, but everyone was really brave and we stopped them!" She ended on a confident and determined note.

"I see." Grace commented quietly. She patted the child's head, closed her eyes and gave the young girl a grin. "Thank you, Bonnie."

"That's... okay..." The Lumiose Gym Leader's young sister muttered. Truthfully, she was unsure why Serena's mom had asked all these questions, but she answered them regardless. Bonnie yawned and returned to her comfortable position. She closed her eyes and prepared to doze off.

* * *

Ash, alongside the three Pokemon accompanying him, were advancing down the stairs as quickly as possible. The trainer noticed it was getting dark fast, but Braixen quickly intervened by setting her branch ablaze, granting them access to a source of light.

After some time, they reached the bottom. This new room was shrouded in darkness and Pikachu and Braixen felt a ominous chill travel down their back.

However, Ash and Greninja were still capable of seeing ahead due to their Bond Phenomenon. The red energy that they had detected before was now extremely close and they were focused on getting to it as quickly as possible. The two led the way forward, with Braixen providing a source of light for everyone.

The two simultaneously stopped. Pikachu and Braixen sweated a little, anticipating something significant to happen.

"Greninja, Water Shuriken!" Ash commanded. The water type grabbed the shuriken and threw it forward. It ended up colliding with a wall, slicing part of it open. A bright red glow shined through the crack in the wall, causing the group to shield their eyes as they adjusted. "We have to get in that room somehow."

"You will absolutely not!" An infamous voice screamed at them. Thanks to the bright energy, they were able to see the current room they were in much easier. Xerosic revealed himself from the shadows and Ash knew the scientist wasn't happy in the slightest.

"Xerosic, you will pay for what you did to Serena!" Ash shouted at Team Flare's new leader, receiving several cries of agreement from the Pokemon around him.

The short, pale man howled with laughter, "We'll see about that." He said, pulling out a handful of Poke Balls. He chucked them all into the air one by one. Ash watched as his Malamar and Crobat, still a little exhausted, were sent out. In addition to the two Pokemon Ash knew he had possession of, Xerosic also released a Volcarona.

"Pikachu, use Electro Ball on Malamar!" Ash ordered, determined to finish the battle quickly. Both he and Greninja wanted to get to that red energy as soon as possible. They were drawn to it.

"Counter it with Dark Pulse!" Xerosic commanded. As Pikachu set forth his attack, it was quickly cancelled out by a swarm of darkness. "Volcarona, use Heat Wave!" He ordered next.

The bug type flew closer to the battlefield and its body looked as if it was melting. Ash bit his lip and wondered how to counter this attack but he then saw Braixen step forward, branch in hand. He smiled and thought of an idea. "Braixen, stop the attack with Flamethrower!"

Braixen nodded and twirled her branch several times, setting it ablaze and firing her attack. At the same time, the built up energy within Volcarona was unleashed and it collided with Braixen's Flamethrower. The fire type was struggling to stop Volcarona's assault from reaching them, but she gave it her all.

"Pikachu, Greninja, maneuver around the attacks and strike Volcarona!" Ash whispered quickly. The two Pokemon nodded and took off. Pikachu took the left route while Greninja took the right, both avoiding the center of the room which was covered in blazing heat.

Xerosic then realized what they were planning. "Crobat, Malamar, stop them!"

Through Greninja's eyes, Ash saw Crobat was soaring towards the water type, preparing a Wing Attack. "Greninja, dodge and use Cut!"

Greninja did as he was ordered to. He effortlessly dodged the poison type and a blade of water formed on his hand, slamming Crobat out of the way. The already exhausted Pokemon was knocked out.

With Crobat taken care of, Ash diverted his attention to Pikachu who he predicted was about to be ambushed by Malamar. "Use Quick Attack and follow it up with Iron Tail!"

Pikachu sped up rapidly just as the dark type was about to strike, hitting the Pokemon in the chest. As ordered, his tail glowed a bright white and struck Malamar again before it could counterattack. Malamar landed on the ground and attempted to stand up, but it was too tired to continue and fainted.

"Damn it!" Xerosic growled, frustrated two of his Pokemon had been taken out at the same time.

Ash's two Pokemon were now ready to attack Volcarona.

"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt, and Greninja, use Water Shuriken!" Ash gave his final order. The two Pokemon gathered their energy, formed their unique attacks and simultaneously attacked Volcarona from two different sides. This cancelled its concentration on the Heat Wave, causing it to be hit suddenly by Braixen's Flamethrower. The bug type attempted to resist the blow but smashed against the nearby wall instead.

Xerosic hastily recalled all three of his Pokemon, turned around and ran as fast as he could. Ash and the three Pokemon with him were ready to give chase, but a familiar mechanical arm raced past them and hooked itself onto the scientist's lab coat. Neo Team Flare's leader was forced off his feet and was left dangling in the air.

"Not so fast, Xerosic!" A familiar voice called out. Ash's grinned massively as he saw Clemont behind them with a confident smile. It was his Aipom Arm that had just grabbed the pale man.

The Lumiose Gym Leader adjusted the arm so the scientist in red was facing them. "Clemont?! You were supposed to be under my control!"

Clemont's glasses shined brightly and he snickered. "Luckily, I foresaw you trying to control my mind. I know what a Malamar is capable of so thanks to the power of science, I took some immediate precautions before I set out! You may have been tracking me, but I had a little trick of my own too. I guess we're even now."

On cue, the gym leader peeled off a tiny metallic-like square on his cheek. Ash could barely see it but knew that whatever it was, it had saved him from Malamar's mind control.

Xerosic growled fiercely, but slowly smiled. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a tiny button and pressed it, before hiding it once more.

"Well done, Clemont." Xerosic gave his appraise. "You've captured me and ruined my plans. Well done, indeed!"

Clemont didn't like the red haired man's tone of voice in the slightest.

"Xerosic!" Ash shouted at the helpless man and before the blonde companion with him could question the old man's odd voice. "Why did you hurt Serena?! Why did you hurt Mairin?! You don't know how much you've hurt both me and Alain! I knew... I knew when I realized that the Serena here was fake, that you were the one who did this to her! Tell me why!"

Ash received a howl of laughter in return, adding to his frustration. "I wasn't the one who hurt your little friend. I took advantage of her condition, yes, but it wasn't me who started it all!"

"We don't believe you, Xerosic!" Clemont entered the conversation, prepared to stand with his companion.

Xerosic stopped his howling, but was still smirking and had a look of confidence on his face. "It doesn't matter. You may think you've won, but you really haven't. A true scientist always has a backup plan!"

The nearby crack in the wall that was hiding the red energy expanded in size all of a sudden, causing even more bright light to enter the room. The trainers and Pokemon present shielded their eyes until the light suddenly vanished and the room became dark once again.

Braixen instinctively set her stick alight once more, giving them some much needed light.

However, it wasn't long before the surrounding light began to diminish, confusing the fire type.

In the shadows beyond their lit area, Ash and Greninja saw something move with great speed.

"When I said I was taking advantage of your friend's condition, I wasn't joking," Xerosic confidently began. A figure then suddenly leaped above the scientist and landed in front of Ash, Clemont, Pikachu, Braixen and Greninja. All five were astonished at what they were now looking at.

The light on Braixen's branch began to diminish even further. Serena's Pokemon noticed this and began to grow worried.

"Behold!" Xerosic shouted with delight. "With this Pokemon, you will never escape! You will all belong to me! Darkrai, attack!"

* * *

"Thunder Punch!"

"Dragon Pulse!"

The two mega evolved Pokemon continued their relentless assault. The remaining Team Flare Grunts, Celosia and Mable were powerless to do. The two scientists had just had their final Pokemon taken out. Mega Charizard X and Mega Garchomp had received minimal damage.

Another wave of Team Flare Grunts had even tried to ambush them from behind, but the two mega evolved Pokemon were more than enough to deal with them. Their opponents consisted of first stage Pokemon, with only a few exceptions. Mega Evolution was proving to be extremely powerful in this scenario.

Celosia and Mable then simultaneously looked down to their wrists. A small gadget on their arm was blinking rapidly. The two looked at each other with looks of worry and annoyance.

"Oh dear." Celosia commented. "Looks like Xerosic screwed up."

Mable scratched her cheek and sighed. "That's not good. I don't like Plan B."

"Plan B?" Sycamore repeated, overhearing their conversation.

"I'm glad we're protected." Celosia laughed, hearing the professor's inquiry and choosing to ignore it. She turned to face Sycamore and Alain. "I hope you two have had your fun, but now it is time for our victory."

* * *

A knock on the door disturbed Bonnie, who was about to fall into a deep sleep. She rubbed her eyes and forced herself to open the door. What she saw completely removed any traces of sleep left within her. She was now wide awake and was shocked.

"Hello, little girl." what was unmistakably a female member of Team Flare greeted her with a sinister smile. She knelt down and licked her lips, enjoying the look of terror on the child's face. "You don't mind if we pick up the comatose girl in this room, do you?"


	13. Anniversary

**Woah, 5 months without a chapter?! I'm so sorry. I don't really have an excuse. I just... didn't update. But we're here now and I'll try to update regularly once again. Apologies for the wait, enjoy!**

* * *

The Team Flare Grunt bent down to her knees and smiled at the blonde girl in front of her, "So, what do you say, little girl? Are you going to be nice and let us take Serena... to somewhere more safe?" She ended with a snicker.

Bonnie swallowed and crossed her arms. "No way." She said confidently, sticking out her tongue.

The grunt seemed agitated at the gesture, but quickly regained her more formal composure. "Oh, so you're going to be difficult, are you? Well, that's fine, I'll just have to-"

Before the woman in red could finish her speech, a sharp pain hit her cheek and she fell back before being caught by a male grunt behind her. Bonnie looked up and saw a Fletchling hovering close to her. The Lumiose girl figured out quickly that it had interrupted the grunt with Peck.

"Good work, Fletchling." Grace gave appraise to the flying type, who cheered happily. Bonnie took advantage of the situation and closed the door, locking it immediately.

Serena's mother walked up to the young girl and stood by her side. Grace gave Bonnie a questionig look. "So, I assume this is the infamous Team Flare I'm heard about?"

"Yep, that's them." Bonnie sighed. "I knew they were going to come knocking eventually, but I didn't expect it to be so soon."

Grace raised an eyebrow at the child's statement. "You knew they were coming?"

"Yeah, Clemont told me." Bonnie began explaining. "He discovered that one of Team Flare's main scientists was the one looking after Serena. My brother investigated further and found out that every single employee of this hospital is a member of Team Flare too. They have been slowly taking over this hospital since Serena was brought here."

The older woman looked horrified at what the blonde child was saying. "Why would he go off with the others if he knew this?" She turned to face her sleeping daughter and gave her a look of worry. "I don't want her to get hurt!"

Bonnie giggled quietly. "That's why I was left here, silly! I'm gonna defend Serena!"

Grace stared at the girl for a few seconds, struggling to form words in her mouth. "...Bonnie, I'm not doubting your... determination or anything, but you're just a little girl. You're not a trainer."

"I'm gonna have to be one for a little bit!" Bonnie said excitedly. She reached into her pouch, disturbing the slumbering Dedenne in the process and waking him up. She pulled out two Poke Balls and threw them into the air. "Come on out, you two!"

Moments later, two Pokemon materialized into the room. One was excited to be freed while the other was not as enthusiastic.

"Those are your brother's Pokemon, right?" Grace observed. In front of her was Chespin, one of the starter Pokemon in the Kalos region, and a Bunnelby.

"Yup, and they're not the only ones who are gonna help us." Bonnie continued with a wink. She turned to face the other two Pokemon in the room. "You two are gonna help us too, right?" She questioned Pancham and Sylveon, who both nodded and hopped in front of their new temporary trainer.

Right on time, someone began banging on the door. "You have three seconds to open this door now, or somebody will get hurt!" What was unmistakably the same female grunt shouted in an angered voice.

"Chespin, use Pin Missile!" Bonnie ordered with a yell, pointing at the door. The grass type responded quickly and unleashed several spiky needles. This attack punctured through the door and several yelps were heard from the other side. "Alright, we go them!"

"Ches!" The Quill Pokemon raised his fist in excitement.

Bonnie unlocked the door and peeked outside. Only several grunts were in the corridor outside, but they had been all knocked down to the floor by Chespin's attack.

"Alright! Serena's mom, you stay here and keep an eye on Serena! Future Pokemon Champion Bonnie will make sure nobody enters the room!" Bonnie gave instructions to the older woman, who couldn't help but smirk at the girl despite the current situation they were in.

Bonnie ran out of the room and into the corridor, followed shortly by the four Pokemon who would be assisting her. The Pokemon got into battle stances and were ready to begin battling.

"Urgh..." one of the grunts rubbed their head as they got to their feet.. "Stupid little brat! You'll pay for that!"

The four grunts released their Pokemon, consisting of two Zubat, a Murkrow and a Litleo. The two bat-like Pokemon teamed up and aimed for Pancham.

"Alright, Pancham, use Stone Edge!" Bonnie ordered excitedly. The joy of battling was overwhelming her and she was shaking with excitement despite the opponents she was facing. Pancham slammed the ground and a large crystallized pillar emerged from the ground, hitting both Zubat immediately.

The trainer with the Murkrow stepped forward, "Alright, Murkrow, use Bite!" The grunt ordered, the dark type jumping off his shoulder and towards Bonnie and Dedenne.

Bonnie turned towards the fairy type nearby and Sylveon nodded at her, "Okay! Use Fairy Wind!"

Sylveon adjusted the position of its feelers before launching a blast of fairy energy that disturbed Murkrow's flying and sent him soaring uncontrollably into the nearby wall.

"Litleo, get them with Flamethrower!" The final grunt ordered, hoping to catch the young girl off guard. The fire type unleashed a blast of fire, but Pancham conjured a Dark Pulse to nullify the move. The Litleo was surprised by the counterattack and did not see Bunnelby sneak behind him.

"Bunnelby, Mud Slap!" Bonnie gave a final order. The Litleo began to panic and wonder where the normal type was about to strike from, but it was hit within seconds and knocked out.

"What the?!" One of the grunts cried out. "How can a little girl beat us? This is preposterous!"

"You idiots!"

The four grunts gulped and lined up next to each other quickly, but not before recalling their Pokemon. Bonnie turned around and saw a orange haired Team Flare member walking towards her.

She recognized this member. After all, Bonnie had seen this person so many times already.

"Aliana!" She said, crossing her arms and pouting. "I thought you were a nice person but you're just a member of Team Flare!"

"Oh my," She placed her hands on her sides and laughed. "You act as if you already figured me out beforehand. You're a clever little child."

Aliana began to approach Bonnie. The Pokemon under her command formed a circle around her so they could defend her.

"However, you are going to be a nice little girl and let us pick up Serena, aren't you, Bonnie?"

* * *

Braixen was the first to react to the Shadow Ball, gathering all of her fiery power to strike back with a Flamethrower. The Shadow Ball was deadly and quickly pushed her back, but Greninja used the Flamethrower's light to his advantage and cut the sphere in two.

"Where did they get a Darkrai?!" Clemont gasped. The Legendary Dark-type could barely be seen with the limited light, but it now seemed to be staying still for the time being, which the group was thankful for.

"I like to think it was destiny," Xerosic roared with laughter once more. Clemont noticed his voice sounded further away. He turned around to where the scientist was supposed to be and noticed Xerosic was gone. He was now hidden within the shadows, having used Darkrai's attack as an opportunity to hide himself. "We were weakened after Lysandre failed. We thought it was all over, but then we looked to the stars and saw a lone Darkrai flying slowly across the night sky. I like to think it was a gift from Arceus itself, acknowledging us as the saviors of mankind."

"What kind of nonsense is that?!" The Lumiose scientist yelled at what could easily be considered his personal nemesis.

"It doesn't matter in the end." Xerosic began. "What matters is your defeat. You have been wonderful thorns in my side, but now it is time for you to say goodbye! Darkrai, use Shadow Ball once more, and put more power into it!"

Greninja, now more aware of his surroundings, stepped forward ready to fight again.

Ash noticed his Pokemon's determination, "Alright, Greninja, Water Shuriken! Braixen, Fire Blast! Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"

Seconds later, the three attacks had combined into a wonderful combination of energy, striking Darkrai before he could unleash his move.

"Great work, you three!" Ash complimented the Pokemon. Pikachu was the first to turn around and was about to yell back in acknowledgement, but he was struck by a familiar ball of shadowy power. Ash's reactions were almost instant as he jumped and grabbed his partner Pokemon that was soaring towards him.

Xerosic's obnoxiously loud and trademark laughter then diverted everyone's attention. "Ah, wonderful! What a wonderful attempt! That attack was magnificent! But I'm not stupid. If I don't finish this now, you will inevitably defeat my precious Darkrai. That's why I'm going to finish this with one move. Darkrai, use Dark Void!"

But the dark-type did not respond. If the group could see Xerosic right now, they would have seen him beginning to sweat.

"Oh no..." Ash muttered, recognize the attack name. "Everyone, head back!" He continued, pointing towards the exit which was lit up from the light on the upper floors.

"Got it!" Clemont agreed with Ash's suggestion, as did the Pokemon with them.

"I said... D-Darkrai, use Dark Void!" Xerosic screamed. Again, he received no response from the Legendary Pokemon. The Flare scientist grunted to himself and pulled out a remote, aiming it at the Pokemon that was refusing to do his bidding.

Xerosic only had to press one button before Darkrai's eyes shot open and it yelled in pain. It began to conjure its signature Dark Void move soon after. Seconds later, the move was ready to be unleashed.

The group were just about to reach the exit, but the shadows soon overwhelmed them.

* * *

Ash saw nothing but darkness when he next opened his eyes. Surrounding him was what appeared to be an endless void.

"Hello?" He shouted out into the darkness. The boy received no response.

But then he blinked and the light that appeared almost blinded him.

Ash now found himself in some sort of room. He scanned the area around him immediately and noticed it was a very messy bedroom. Clothes were scattered all across the floor and it was difficult for the young trainer to maneuver his way throughout the room as he searched for an exit. In the corner of an eye, he noticed something familiar.

Walking closer to it, it was a picture framed on the wall. It was the only thing he currently recognized in this room. It was the photo the group had taken with Korrina when they were in Geosenge Town, back when they had first met the gym leader.

"A-Ash!" A quiet shriek caught his attention. He turned around and saw Serena staring at him with a shocked expression. "You're home early! Did you finish that quickly or something?"

"I... I don't know." He admitted. Ash had no idea what was currently happening and things only got weirder when he noticed Serena looked considerably different. She was taller, her hair was longer and she was wearing different clothing than what he was used to. More importantly, she looked considerably older.

"Well, uhm, sorry for the mess." Serena apologized, a small blush appearing on her face. "If I had known you were finishing early, I would have started cleaning the house much earlier."

"Right..." Ash muttered, not sure what else to contribute to their conversation.

"So, were the challengers at the Pokemon League that easy?" She questioned. "Not to be rude to them, I'm sure they're exceptional trainers, but you're an exceptional champion."

The boy from Kanto stared at his friend momentarily, making sure he hadn't misheard what she said. "Wait... what?"

Serena pouted at him, but in a way that didn't seem aggressive, but playful instead. "Gosh, Ash! Sometimes you just zone out randomly!" Serena commented. She then moved some of her hair aside and rested her head on her hand. "Um... this is the earliest you've ever finished. Usually, if you finish early, you hang out with Clemont or Sawyer for a while... May I ask, did you really remember...?"

Her final sentence was filled with some slight stuttering in her voice. When Ash attempted to respond, he struggled to answer the question, mostly as he had no idea what he was supposed to be remembering.

Serena noticed his silence and smirked. "Oh my gosh, Ash Ketchum actually remembered! Looks like I won that bet with your mother."

"Bet with my mother?" Ash repeated.

"Yeah, she bet that since you forgot our first anniversary, you wouldn't remember our second either. I'm so glad you did though, honey!" Serena giggled with joy. Serena's words repeated several times in his head, but before he could come to some sort of conclusion, he was interrupted by a tight hug by the Kalosian girl.

"Um..." was all he could manage to let out.

"You make me the happiest wife, Ash!" Serena said with excitement, tightening her hug and relaxing.

Those seven words made him pinch himself, but he did not wake up.


	14. Nightmares

Ash was sat down on a couch on the ground floor of the house. His head was resting on both of his hands and he sighed from time to time. The boy was lost in his own thoughts. He had discovered that his body was the same, yet Serena, despite looking much older, didn't seem to notice any change. His logical conclusion was that he had traveled through time. The concept wasn't unfamiliar to him; he knew not one, but two Pokemon capable of accomplishing such a feat.

But that didn't explain why Serena didn't make any comment about him looking younger. More importantly, that didn't explain why she was suggesting the two were married. That claim kept creeping back into the front of his mind.

"Ash?" She said in a worried tone. She had been sat beside him the whole time.

Her voice took him out of his thoughts. He was glad that at least her voice was mostly the same.

"What's up?" He responded, looking up and making eye contact with her.

"You've been really quiet since you got home..." She whispered. "Are you alright? Is there anything on your mind?"

Ash sighed. Even though he wasn't sure what was going on, even if he wasn't sure that the Serena standing in front of him was truly the Serena he knew, he at least knew he didn't want someone with a calm and beautiful voice like hers to worry about him.

"I'm alright," He started, flashing her a grin. "I'm just exhausted, that's all. I'm sorry if I'm making you worry."

Serena relaxed at his reply and returned his smile. "Okay then. I'm going to make us some food. I'll make you your favorite."

"Thank you."

Once she left the room, he let out a sigh, but kept it quiet enough for her not to hear. He returned to his thoughts and was astonished to find he now remembered. He remembered everything.

He remembered he was the champion of the Kalos region. He remembered that Clemont and Sawyer were put of the Elite 4. He remembered that Bonnie was currently traveling through the Sinnoh region. He remembered what the rest of his friends were currently doing. But most importantly, he remembered his wedding. He remembered that Serena was indeed his wife.

Remembering all these thoughts made him freeze temporarily. But suddenly, all those memories felt natural. He felt like he had not forgotten at all.

Ash Ketchum stood up and stretched. "Gee, I really am tired."

"Ash!" Serena once again called out to him. Ash's eyes shot open upon hearing her voice. Something inside his body felt different. Her voice made him feel like he was about to fall over, but oddly enough, that sensation felt good.

Serena repeated his name again. However, this time, he noticed the urgency in her voice that he did not notice the first time.

Ash ran to her location immediately and saw the distressed expression on her face.

"S-Serena? What's going on?" He yelled at her. The woman was on the floor, covering part of her stomach with her right hand and holding onto a nearby chair with her left.

Ash then saw how bloody her right hand was.

Serena was trying to talk to him, but he could see the pain in her eyes. He instinctively put his hands around her and slowly helped her to her feet, but not without hearing a few cries of pain.

"Who... who did this to you?!" He screamed at her.

"I... I..." She murmured with a volume Ash could barely comprehend.

"We... we need to get you to the hospital! Immediately!" Ash told her. Serena slowly nodded. The trainer from Kanto released one of his hands and dug into the pocket where he kept his PokeBalls. "C'mon... c'mon... anybody..."

He spent a few seconds fidgeting in his pocket, only to find out he had no Pokemon on him.

Then he realized he was missing somebody very important to him.

Where was Pikachu?

The absence of his best friend made his head hurt. Another gasp of pain from the girl beside him released him from this thoughts and he realized he had to act fast.

"Ash!"

A quiet voice echoed throughout the trainer's ears. That wasn't Serena's voice, but it felt familiar to him.

"Ash!"

"Hello?" He shouted as the two left the house, ready to head to the hospital.

"Open your eyes, Ash!"

He ignored the voice this time; he had to save his wife.

* * *

Sycamore tried everything he could to wake up the trainer. He called to him, he shook his body and he called to him again.

"No luck, then?" Alain asked him.

Professor Sycamore sighed and crossed his arms. "We can't wake up Clemont, either."

Alongside the three humans were all the Pokemon they had brought with them, who looked equally worried. It was proving very difficult to awaken the two trainers, which was worrying everyone around them.

Clemont was tossing and turning in his sleep, whereas Ash was fairly stable in terms of body movement. His facial expressions told another story, however.

Then Ash screamed.

Sycamore and Alain were shocked by the pure emotion of the cry for help and remained stunned for a few seconds. However, Pikachu, Greninja and Braixen rushed to Ash's side, desperate to help him in any way possible.

"Pika pi!" Pikachu was the first to respond, shaking his trainer's arm with his paw.

* * *

"What... what do you m-mean you can't h-help her?!"

Ash struggled to speak to the doctor, his voice stuttering from the agony he felt in his heart. The doctor's words hurt.

"She's not going to make it, I'm so sorry."

* * *

Ash screamed again. His voice sounded even more horrible than before.

This time, Pikachu reacted to his trainer's screams of terror by deciding to do the one thing he knew would wake Ash up. He had no choice. He conversed with Greninja and Braixen, who agreed with his idea.

"Pika..." his cheeks bean to spark. "Chuuuu!"

The two nearby humans quickly backed away from the electricity, as did the two other Pokemon.

Ash shot up as he was electrocuted by his first Pokemon.

"P-Pikachu...!" He muttered in a painful tone. "You little... that's the second time today, I swear!" Despite Ash being in a bit of pain, Pikachu couldn't help but quietly giggle. Besides, his trainer seemed to be annoyed than in pain.

"Are you alright, Ash?" Alain asked, offering a hand to the trainer, who accepted it after some hesitation.

"I... I... W-where's Serena?!" He shouted in a desperate tone. The boy looked around at his surroundings and didn't immediately recognize where he was. His heart was starting to hurt.

"She's not here, Ash. It's just us here. Serena is safe in the hospital." Sycamore reassured him of her safety. However, when Ash heard him finish his sentence, he looked like he was about to have a panic attack. Sycamore quickly placed his hands on the trainer's shoulders, directing all attention to him. "You were having a nightmare, Ash."

Ash took a few moments to calm himself from his outburst. "Oh... I'm sorry. How long was I out for?"

"About an hour," Alain quickly replied. "You've missed a fair bit."

Ash stretched his aching muscles and yawned. "Alright, so what have I missed then?"

"We dealt with the two Flare scientists and the grunts. We forced them out of the facility." Sycamore began to explain. "Also, I should mention, before we left, I let Officer Jenny know what we were planning to do. Hopefully, she's captured the ones we've driven out." He added.

"That's good." Ash said, though he expected there was a lot more to the story. The trainer from Kanto gave them a gesture to continue.

"We headed down to the lower floors next." Alain took over the recap. "We found you, Clemont, and the Pokemon unconscious. The professor had several Awakening on him, so we were able to wake up Pikachu, Greninja and Braixen, thankfully."

Pikachu hopped onto Ash's shoulder and gave him a heartwarming smile. Ash smirked and gently rubbed his cheek.

"Cha..." Pikachu responded enthusiastically, enjoying the attention he was getting.

Braixen watched the interaction between trainer and Pokemon and frowned slightly. Greninja was the only one to notice.

"We brought you and Clemont up here and have been trying to wake you two up since. Seems like Pikachu decided desperate times called for desperate measures." Sycamore finished, adding a chuckle to the end of his speech.

Ash gave Pikachu a smug look, which made Pikachu smirk back at him. Ash laughed.

"You're really something else, buddy." Ash complimented his partner, now choosing to stroke the top of his head, making the Mouse Pokemon happier.

"If I may ask," Alain started, gaining Ash's attention. "What was your nightmare about? You're welcome to talk to us about it, if you like."

"I... I'll pass, sorry." Ash apologized with some uneasy laughter. The Kalos natives understood his reasoning and dropped the subject. "Wait... what happened to Xerosic?"

"We have no idea. We thought you could help us with that." The Kalos professor answered. "We didn't stay at the lower floors of this place for long and were lucky we managed to see you all in the darkness. We decided the safety of the Pokemon, Clemont and yourself was the top priority."

"We have to go back down there!" Ash yelled suddenly, his determination flaring suddenly. Greninja walked up to his trainer and gave Sycamore and Alain an approving nod. "There's... that energy, down there. Greninja and I could see it. It's the same type of energy Lysandre used to control Squishy and his friend. I just know we have to get rid of it!"

"Understood, but first, we have to wake up Clemont." Sycamore reminded them, pointing to the sleeping scientist who was still moving uneasily in his sleep.

Ash felt a little guilty not waking up his friend earlier, but that was in the past now. "Alright, Pikachu, you know what to do!"

Pikachu nodded and began gathering electricity once more.

* * *

"That hurt." Clemont complained once more. The group of four, alongside their Pokemon, were now heading back down to the lower floors. Pikachu's attack had snapped Clemont out of his nightmare successfully. He was thankful for being brought back to reality, but he wasn't used to being shocked like Ash was, so he was complaining a fair amount about aching a little.

Sycamore had asked him if he wanted to talk about the nightmare, but he declined just as Ash had done.

Braixen led the way, her fire burning brighter than ever. Greninja had noticed a more determined look on her face when compared to the last time they were here. Soon, they were at the lower floors once again, surrounded by darkness. The water-type noticed they were able to see significantly more than last time. He also seemed to be the only one to notice it was thanks to Braixen.

"So, we're dealing with a Darkrai, right?" Sycamore questioned.

"Not to be rude, professor, but I thought that was obvious with the whole nightmare thing." Alain responded to him. The professor simply chuckled quietly at the trainer's comment.

"Greninja," Ash called out to the Pokemon, who immediately knew what was on his trainer's mind. The two called forth the powers of the Bond Phenomenon, transforming Greninja into Ash-Greninja. The duo temporarily closed their eyes. When they reopened them, their enhanced sight activated, allowing them to detect the unusual energy. With the two now leading the way, alongside Braixen, who acted as their light, it wasn't long before the others saw the bright red light themselves.

Clemont approached the crack in the wall and peered in. He could see clearly where the red light was originating from now. It was a device in the center of the nearby room, a device he recognized very quickly.

"Well, that explains a lot." Clemont commented, gaining the attention of the others. "Team Flare used that device to take control of Zygarde, just as you said, Ash." Seeing the device brought back bad memories for Clemont. There was only one way to destroy that device before, and it required the sacrifice of someone dear to him.

"Can you destroy it?" Alain asked the inventor.

"Well, I'm not sure..." Clemont said softly, Clembot's final moments playing in his mind once more. While he had indeed repaired the robot already, the memory still hurt him when revisited. "But I'll certainly try."

"Please, don't even bother." A familiar, unenthusiastic female voice called out to them from the shadows.

"Well, we were inevitably going to run into somebody eventually." Alain sighed.

Footsteps dramatically echoed throughout the lower floor. The enemy was approaching them from the front. From the darkness emerged a Team Flare Scientist. Adjusting her green hair, the scientist yawned as she stopped moving.

"Bryony." Alain said, glaring at the woman.

"Nice to see you too, Alain." Bryony smiled at him, before immediately pouting at him instead. "You're really annoying, you know? I can't believe I was assigned to keep an eye on the one person who would recognize me if I didn't put any effort into changing my appearance. That hairstyle I used at the hospital was atrocious. Aliana got lucky!" She finished her complaining.

But only one thing was on Alain's mind.

"Where is Mairin?!" He demanded an answer from her.

"Safe, for now." Bryony giggled at him.

Alain grunted to himself in frustration, but calmed himself so he could avoid playing her games. "Tell me where she is."

"If all of you comply with my wishes, I promise you she will be handed over. There will be no need for any unnecessary violence."

Her response reeked of a trap and all four knew she was not to be trusted.

"Is she here?" Sycamore inquired. Bryony glared at him for a few seconds and nodded. "...Alright." Sycamore whispered, satisfied with the answer.

Bryony walked closer to the group. Greninja quietly got into a battle ready stance, while Pikachu and Braixen watched her movements carefully. "All I ask," she started. "Is that you leave peacefully. Additionally, I ask you also convince Jenny outside to free my fellow scientists, and maybe the grunts if you can, but we can work without them."

The scientist received no response, which annoyed her. She sighed to herself and clicked her fingers.

"Alain," a quiet voice called out to the Kalos League finalist. Appearing from the shadows and standing next to Bryony was a familiar young girl. Ash, Clemont and Sycamore eyed this person carefully, their expression not changing in the slightest.

As for Alain, his eyes widened in astonishment.

"Mairin..."


	15. Last Stand

"So, what do you say, sweet Alain?" Bryony said in a quiet, motherly-like tone. "You're going to listen to Mairin... right? I understand you not wanting to listen to me, but surely you'll listen to your lovely little girlfriend?"

Alain looked down at the young girl in front of him, who was giving him a beaming smile. He groaned and closed his eyes, "Somebody do it already. I don't want to watch."

"Greninja?" Ash called out the water-type, who turned his head to face him and nodded. A blade of water grew out of Greninja's hand and he rushed towards Mairin, ready to strike her. However, she reacted quickly and backed away, her innocent smile turning into a wicked one.

Bryony groaned and placed a hand on her hip. "Well, it was worth a shot. I guess we can't fool you twice."

Only a second later, Mairin's body began to shake uncontrollably. Ash and Clemont recognized the motion, for the same thing had happened when the fake Serena transformed into Essentia. Right on cue, Mairin began to morph into the unknown person in the metallic suit from before. Sycamore nudged Alain, giving him the cue to open his eyes.

"Alright, Bisharp and Liepard, come on out." The blue-haired scientist yelled with little to no enthusiasm in her voice. She chucked the two Poke Balls into the air, setting free her two Pokemon who were eager to fight. "Oh, and Xerosic, get out here and support me. If you don't, I'll quit right here and now." She added.

"What?!" The familiar, and still annoying, voice of the male Team Flare Scientist cried out from the darkness.

"You expect me to take four trainers on all by myself?" She yelled into the distance, in an area not lit up by the red energy. Xerosic was hiding, observing the confrontation from afar.

"Essentia is right there with you!" Xerosic yelled back.

Bryony looked to her side, the location where the person in the mechanical suit was supposed to be. "No, she is not."

"What?! Where did she...?!"

"Hey!" Alain was the one to yell this time. Bryony locked eyes with him, noticing the mild shaking of his body and the determination in his eyes. "Enough fooling around! What is wrong with you people? Why won't you just leave Mairin alone?! Hasn't she suffered enough?!"

"Blah blah blah blah blah!" Bryony mocked him, still sounding as bored as before. She turned her head to face the shadows once more and her expression hardened. "Xerosic! I won't tell you again. Get out here NOW!"

"F-Fine, fine!" The new Team Flare leader shouted back, sounding uncharacteristically intimidated. The man in red emerged and stood next to the female scientist. "Fine, I'll help you. Essentia can control Darkrai on her own, anyway."

"Ash, Clemont." Sycamore whispered, catching the attention of the two younger trainers who were next to him. They looked up at him curiously. "Alain and I will battle these guys. You two slip away and find the entrance to the room with that device."

"Got it." The Lumiose Gym Leader acknowledged the professor's request. Ash nodded as well and gave the Pokemon with them a heads-up on what was happening.

Xerosic growled to himself, giving Bryony a brief glare. "Crobat and Malamar, it's time to get rid of these fools!" Xerosic announced, setting free his two Pokemon. They looked a little weakened from earlier battles, but still had the ability to fight.

"Four against two, huh?" Sycamore observed. He approached Alain and placed a hand on his shoulder. "We can handle it, right? Mega Evolution will surpass them for sure."

The professor received no response, however. Maneuvering his body slightly, he gazed into Alain's eyes. Only rarely did the professor ever see the raw emotion he was seeing now. He concluded that Alain was experiencing a nasty combination of anger and sadness that was tearing him apart from the inside. What he didn't have to theorize about was why the trainer was feeling the way he was; it was because of Mairin.

"Alain?" The Kalos professor called out to his old student.

"Professor... they aren't going to get away with this." Alain quietly said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out Charizard's Poke Ball.

"You're absolutely right." He responded, mimicking his battle partner's action by reaching into his own pocket to retrieve his partner.

* * *

Ash and Clemont watched patiently as the battle begun. They kept an eye on the enemy's movement, watching for the perfect opportunity to slip away. Charizard and Garchomp, both mega evolved, were overpowering their opponents, despite being at a disadvantage in terms of numbers. Even with the raw power being displayed, Bryony's and Xerosic's Pokemon were capable of handling a handful of hits, but it appeared Xerosic's Pokemon were quickly reaching their limit.

"We have to go quickly." Clemont announced. "Once Xerosic is out, there's a higher chance he'll notice us if we try to leave."

"If he doesn't have any Pokemon to aid him, would he even try to do something against us?" Ash shared his point on the situation.

Clemont got into a thinking posture briefly before replying to his friend, "Don't underestimate him, Ash. He's still a very intelligent scientist. I wouldn't doubt he has several gadgets hidden away."

"Heh, just like you." Ash laughed quietly. "It's a shame the guy's a jerk. You two could have gotten on."

The Lumiose native gave the trainer a next of disapproval, "C'mon, Ash. Besides, there's that Darkrai to consider too."

"Of course, but honestly, I think now's a good time to go." Ash changed the subject. The trainers scanned their surroundings once more. The only way forward was to head past the scientists, so there was sadly no alternative solution. "Everyone ready to go?" He asked the group.

Clemont nodded. Pikachu, Greninja and Braixen gave their respective forms of approval.

* * *

"Charizard, Dragon Claw!" Alain yelled. Immediately, the fire type responded and launched itself into the air with spectacular speed. Liepard, Charizard's target, who was attempting to attack the dragon from above, was sent soaring back down to the earth.

Bryony lightly slapped her face and groaned, "Fine! Bisharp, Iron Head!"

The Sword Blade Pokemon rushed from its position as fast as it could. It jumped up, its eyes locked on Charizard. However, Bisharp did not collide with its intended target. Instead, it collided with a Dragon Pulse originating from Sycamore's Garchomp.

Xerosic looked over to his only two Pokemon who were currently attempting to get up from two previous attacks that had almost knocked them out.

"We're getting completely destroyed." Xerosic commented, curling his hand into a fist in frustration.

"Thank you for pointing out the obvious." Bryony growled at him. Xerosic quickly backed away, but only slightly. "So much for your fantastic plan that you said would definitely get rid of our enemies, right?"

The male scientist regained his composure after a few moments of hesitation, "Well, it doesn't matter if we lose. We have a Darkrai under our control! Nobody, not even two mega-evolved Pokemon, will be able to beat it!"

"Sure, sure." She muttered with the usual unenthusiastic tone. "Okay, so where is that Darkrai right now? I don't see him lending us a hand."

"Guarding the most important part of this whole facility!" Xerosic snapped back. "It's not my fault your Pokemon haven't been trained well enough, anyway."

His comment was not received well by his battling partner. Bryony looked like she was about to burst with anger. Xerosic noticed he had made a grave mistake. "For your information, it's been YOUR Pokemon that have been struggling this entire battle, Xerosic! At least mine have been able to put up a fight, yours keep getting slapped out of the air like they're nothing!"

"Excuse me," Sycamore called out to them. Xerosic made another comment, infuriating Bryony once again. "Excuse me!" He said louder, adding a purposely loud cough to the end.

Alain looked at the professor with a neutral expression, "They can't hear you."

"How do we tell them?" Sycamore inquired.

"I have an idea." Alain responded. For the first time in a while, he smiled, even though it was only a slight one.

"When will you understand that-" Bryony began. She immediately stopped when she heard the terrifyingly loud noise of something landing next to her. Xerosic had heard it too, sweat appearing on his face. The two slowly turned their heads and locked eyes with Mega Charizard X.

Both instinctively turned and ran in the opposite direction, only to collide with the other mega evolved Pokemon in the room.

"In case you haven't figured it out yet," Alain yelled at the two Team Flare members, his arms triumphantly crossed. "While you two were busy bickering with each other, your Pokemon were left without any trainer to command them. I'm sure you know what that means."

Indeed, the four Pokemon that were sent out to face against the two Mega Evolved Pokemon had been defeated.

"Oh." the only reply came from Xerosic.

* * *

Ash, Clemont and three Pokemon with them rushed to the room with the device. It was strangely taking a significantly long time to find the room, considering the hallway where they encountered Bryony and Xerosic was right next to it.

Despite the time it was taking, Ash and Greninja confidently led the way. Braixen was trying her best to keep up with the speedy duo while providing a bright light to the whole group.

"Almost there..." Ash muttered.

"Gren..." The Pokemon he had performed the Bond Phenomenon with also murmured.

Clemont adjusted his glasses to prevent them from falling off, when suddenly he noticed an area in the distance that was lit up with a red tint. "O-over there Ash!"

"Pika!" Pikachu called out as well, he too noticing the light.

"Brai!" Braixen added her own confirmation.

Moments later, there was no need for Braixen to use her fire anymore. They could see clearly now and it was getting brighter with every step. The group took the next corner and had to briefly shield their eyes from the sudden increase of light. Their running came to a halt as they made out the shape of the device. They had found it.

But Ash had to take only one step forward before Essentia dropped down, seemingly from nowhere.

"You!" Ash called out to the person. The boy still recalled how this person had somehow transformed themselves into Serena and that was something he didn't want to relive again.

Essentia raised her arm, revealing a Poke Ball. It was not just any Poke Ball though, it was one of the rarest known.

A Master Ball.

"Where did she...?" Clemont started. Before he could theorize further, Essentia set free the Pokemon within.

Out came the Pokemon that had defeated them effortlessly before. It was Darkrai.

However, what happened next was something the group could not have anticipated.

Darkrai turned its body to face Essentia and began conjuring a Shadow Ball. For the brief amount of time it was facing the group, Clemont noticed the Legendary Pokemon had looked confused.

The bright, red light from the device behind Essentia flared up suddenly, its intensity forcing the group to shield their eyes so they could adjust once again. Darkrai reacted viciously to the light, its body shaking in pain. The Shadow Ball it had created vanished slowly. Groans of extreme agony came from the Legendary Pokemon. Ash and Clemont began to slowly realize how Team Flare got their hands on Darkrai to begin with.

"It's just like with Zygarde." Clemont remembered. Ash acknowledged his friend's comment with a nod. With the room now fully lit, the two trainers could see Darkrai's body slightly change. Instead of its traditional dark color, it was now red. "They have to be using the Megalith's remaining energy to control Darkrai! That means... that means..."

"Clemont." Ash called out to his friend, noticing the sudden discomfort in his facial expression. "You have to shut down that device. If you do that, Darkrai will likely be freed. We'll give you the time you need to take it down, but you have to do this fast. Got it?"

The Kalos Gym Leader had seen this determined side to Ash so many times before, and it filled him with hope just as did back during the attack on Lumiose City. "You got it." Clemont pulled out a Poke Ball. "Alright, Luxray, you help out Ash!"

The electric type materialized into existence and roared. Luxray noticed his opponent immediately, but his will to fight did not yield.

"Luxray, Ash will be commanding you for this battle, is that alright?" He informed his old friend. Luxray faced Ash and nodded at him, acknowledging the trainer from Kanto as his trainer for this fight.

"Thank you, Clemont!" Ash cheerfully thanked his friend. He turned his attention to Darkrai. "Everyone ready?"

However, he didn't have time to receive any response from his Pokemon partners. Darkrai began the battle by setting forth another Shadow Ball. Ash noticed quickly that this attack was travelling astonishingly fast and would reach them in only a matter of seconds. "Pikachu, Luxray! Thunderbolt!" he gave the command as fast as he could speak. The two electric types reacted immediately and combined their attacks, amplifying the power of the Thunderbolt. The strength was enough to mitigate the Shadow Ball, but the electrical attack had ran out of charge.

Clemont took advantage of the battle beginning by slipping away, beginning the process of working his way to the device. He purposely stayed close to the wall as he moved, hoping that Essentia or Darkrai would not see him due to their focus on the battle.

"That Darkrai has amazing power..." Ash admitted quietly to himself. He was astonished that the power of two Thunderbolts only barely got rid of the Shadow Ball. Darkrai's power, enhanced by Team Flare, was immense. Ash swallowed and removed any doubts from his mind and he smiled with confidence. "But we can do this, everyone! We WILL do this!"


	16. Essentia Unmasked

Darkrai watched closely as its shadowy sphere was obliterated by the Thunderbolt. As a response, it raised both of its arms to the sky. Darkness surged through its body, creating not one, but two balls of darkness that were growing larger by the moment.

Ash hastily realized what the Pokemon was doing. "It's copying Pikachu and Luxray! It's going to merge those two Shadow Balls for sure!" He thought to himself.

"Greninja!" The water type called out to its trainer, snapping him out of his trance.

Ash looked to the synchronized Pokemon and smiled. "Alright, use Water Shuriken on the Shadow Ball!"

Blades of water began to form within Greninja's hands. Moments later, he fired not one, but two shuriken at his opponent.

"Pikachu, Luxray! I need you two to back up Greninja! Pikachu, use Electro Ball, and Luxray, use Thunderbolt on the Electro Ball to propel it forward!"

The two electric types acknowledged their order by preparing their attacks. Luxray began to gather electricity all around his body, while Pikachu's tail began to create a crackling orb of energy.

Greninja's shuriken homed in to their target, invading Darkrai's harnessing of energy. However, they were not strong enough to stop the dark type from conjuring his attack, but Ash noticed it had certainly disrupted his concentration and given the electric types the time they needed.

Pikachu fired his Electro Ball at Darkrai. Immediately after, it was struck by Luxray's Thunderbolt, propelling it forward at a speed almost thrice as fast as before, a speed that rivaled their opponent's earlier attack.

Thanks to Greninja's Water Shuriken, Darkrai did not have enough time to react to the incoming projectile before it struck, detonating the merged Shadow Ball before he could fire it.

"Alright!" Ash celebrated. He turned to Serena's own Pokemon, who was awaiting orders. "Braixen, keep the pressure with a Fire Blast!"

Braixen responded almost instantaneously by twirling her branch rapidly, setting it ablaze. Satisfied with the flames she had gathered, Braixen unleashed the incinerating flame. Darkrai made no attempt to dodge or block the attack, seemingly still recovering from the previous assault. Braixen's ferocious flame collided with no issue.

Ash anxiously watched as the smoke from the attacks dissipated. Eventually, it revealed Darkrai with his arms blocking the front of his body. They looked scratched, but it was clear Darkrai had used them to reduce the damage from the projectiles he endured.

"We're doing good, guys." Ash reassured the group he was with. He reached into his pocket and pulled out three Poke Balls. "In fact, let's call in some backup."

* * *

Clemont approached the device very carefully. He knew time was of the essence, but he couldn't afford having Essentia or Darkrai see him. Thankfully, the Legendary Pokemon seemed to be very occupied by Ash's assault. Essentia, however, was proving tricky. He or she was remaining motionless, making no form of movement at all. All he had to work with was that they were facing Ash's general direction, so he figured the closer he got to the device, the likelihood of him being caught would lower.

He quickened his pace the closer he got. After roughly two minutes of very patient and slow moving, he reached his destination. Clemont grabbed his backpack and placed it on the floor, knowing he'd likely have to take equipment out of it shortly. He hastily scanned the device's design, confirming that it was indeed familiar to the device he had to dismantle in his gym during the Lumiose attack.

"This... is going to be a problem." He whispered quietly to himself after some quick analysis. "This device needs two people to shut it down. I had Clembot before, but he's not exactly with me right now... And I can't risk having the Pokemon attack it, either. A device like this needs to be shut down manually, but I can't..."

The faint sound of footsteps removed Clemont from his thoughts. He hastily turned around and saw Essentia looking over him.

Essentia bent down on his or her's knees, facing Clemont directly. "Please..." it said in a familiar feminine voice, surprising the gym leader. "I-I can't control..."

"That voice..." Clemont muttered in disbelief. He had his suspicions, but to see them confirmed all of a sudden was a surreal feeling.

Essentia brought its left hand to its helmet and clawed at the E symbol on it. Clemont observed that the person in the suit looked like they were incredibly dizzy, as evident by their struggle to maintain their balance. With their right hand, they suddenly reached in to what appeared to be a pocket, shortly pulling out a Poke Ball afterwards. Once it was in view, they immediately released the Pokemon within.

Out of the bright blue light emerged an Espurr. The psychic type looked confused even after taking in its surroundings, but when it noticed Essentia, it cried out in happiness. Espurr hopped over happily to the Team Flare accomplice and rubbed its face against the person's leg.

When Essentia's leg moved backwards, Clemont's eyes widened. "Mimi, move out of the way, now!" He called out desperately.

Unfortunately, it was too late. Mimi turned around and gave him a puzzled look, only to receive a sharp kick to the back, sending the small Pokemon flying towards Clemont's direction. With instincts on his side, the inventor was successful in catching the Pokemon before it crashed into the wall.

"Mimi, are you alright?" Clemont asked, the Pokemon hiding its face in the scientist's arms. He heard its quiet whimpers. He theorized that Mimi realized who Essentia really was and falsely assumed that Essentia was herself. The Pokemon's crying suggested it was more emotionally hurt than physically. He felt terrible for it. Clemont got back onto his feet and glared at Essentia. "Emma! Try to take back control! Do you realize what you've done to Mimi?" He yelled.

The person in the suit reacted viciously, their actions becoming similar to moments before. They suddenly collapsed on their knees and screamed. Although their screams were muffled by the helmet, Clemont could tell they was struggling immensely.

Before he could take his next course of action, Clemont sighted a Shadow Ball heading straight for them.

* * *

Darkrai was proving to be a very adaptable foe. While they were able to get the upper hand plenty of times, he would adapt to their tactics with the next attempt.

Ash admitted selfishly in his mind that the battle was exciting him. It was very challenging, but he felt like they had a chance to win. With Hawlucha, Noivern and Talonflame now in the battle, Darkrai was rarely able to counterattack due to the high amount of attacks colliding with him. Ash knew an eight on one battle wasn't exactly fair, but after considering what was at stake, he decided he didn't care too much.

Darkrai had just been hit by a well timed Brave Bird by Talonflame. The flying move had struck him directly in the chest, dealing significant damage as he had no opportunity to block or dodge the attack.

"Great work, Talonflame!" Ash thanked the first flying type he caught in Kalos.

"Pika, pikachu!" Pikachu called out to Ash suddenly in a desperate tone. Ash noticed his companion was pointing at Darkrai.

For some reason, Darkrai's attention had turned to Clemont, who appeared to be with an Espurr. "Where did he...?" Ash wondered out loud, before the channeling sound of a Shadow Ball caught the group's attention. Darkrai was now aiming for Clemont.

"Pikachu! Electro Ball, and Luxray, back it up with a Thunderbolt once again!" Ash ordered with haste. He turned his head towards the direction where Braixen, Greninja and his flying types were waiting. "Noivern, Dragon Claw! Hawlucha, X-Scissor! Talonflame, Brave Bird! Braixen, use Fire Blast once they've all struck! Greninja, stay hidden and attack with Aerial Ace should things not go as planned!"

Ash's orders were desperate and quickly thought up. His breathing was uneasy; having to order eight Pokemon simultaneously was tough. He hoped Pikachu's Electro Ball could deal with the charging Shadow Ball like before. His flying types could then soar in and deal additional damage, with Braixen preparing a powerful attack in the background to use as the finisher. Greninja would be kept on standby, only to be used should Darkrai do something unexpected that would require the synchronized Pokemon to intervene.

Pikachu and Luxray used their combo move once again, but only a second before it was destined to hit, Darkrai launched the Shadow Ball. They were too late.

* * *

Clemont panicked when he saw the projectile heading towards him and remained motionless, watching it get closer and closer with every blink.

The scientist then heard the quiet voice of the psychic type in his arms. Espurr started to fidget in them before suddenly jumping out. It turned its body during the jump to face the incoming attack. It clenched its tiny arms and it glowed a bright yellow. Clemont's eyes widened when he saw a semi-transparent sphere cover their area.

When the Shadow Ball collided with this barrier, it dispersed instantly. Darkrai kept focusing on them even though his attack failed, which proved to be a fatal error as he was shortly bombarded by Ash's Pokemon while he was distracted. Once Braixen had struck with her Fire Blast, the Legendary Pokemon began to divert his attention to the Kanto trainer once more.

"That was Protect, wasn't it Espurr?" Clemont questioned the psychic type, bending down to reach the small Pokemon's eye level. It smiled at him and nodded, before hopping over to Essentia.

Essentia had returned to a standing position and seemed to be remaining motionless - for the time being.

Espurr began to growl loudly. The scientist figured it was remembering how the person had treated it earlier. Espurr's next action surprised Clemont. It shot off its feet and landed a clean headbutt on Essentia's helmet, causing the glass area of it to crack. Essentia immediately began to lose its balance and had to land on its knees once more to avoid falling over.

When Clemont heard muffled screaming for the second time, he realized what Espurr had done. The cracks increased until the glass completely shattered, revealing the person at long last. Any doubt in Clemont's mind had vanished. Essentia was Emma.

The Kalosian girl's knees gave in and she began to fall to the ground, but the Lumiose Gym Leader swiftly reacted and caught her. Emma's eyes opened and she began mumbling incomprehensible speech.

"Emma?" Clemont called out to the girl. Her eyes opened more and she stared into the boy's eyes.

"...C-Clemont?" She answered with a tone of confusion. She blinked several times and shot up, her head rapidly moving so she could scan her surroundings. "This is... but I... what is..." She speedily mumbled.

The inventor hadn't thought about whether or not Emma was consciously aware of what she had been doing as Essentia. Her tone of speech did suggest she had no clue, however. He wouldn't put it past Xerosic to design the suit in a way so that he could control her and her memory.

Mimi hopped into Emma's arms and gave her a large smile. Espurr's action helped comfort Emma and she began to relax, embracing Mimi with a hug.

Clemont didn't want to cut the reunion short, but time was not on their side. "Emma," he called out to her. Once she locked eyes with him, he continued. "I need your help with disabling this device. It requires two people to shut it down. Is that alright?"

The sound of a Thunderbolt from behind shocked Emma, causing her to immediately stand up and take notice of the battle taking place. Moments later, she turned back towards Clemont with a look of sadness. "I... I think I know what's been happening. I... I'm really sor-"

"Don't worry about it, Emma." Clemont said, adding a quiet chuckle. "I know that no matter what Xerosic made you do, you were not aware in the slightest."

She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. She avoided eye contact with the trainer for a few moments before finally responding. "I... I don't remember what I've done, but... I know I've done terrible things... I... I... Tell me what I need to do."

* * *

"Iron Tail!" Ash ordered, raising his arm to face his opponent. Pikachu ran forward, building up speed before jumping as high as his legs would take him. The electric type began to spin in mid-air, readying his attack. However, Darkrai suddenly reacted after doing so little to avoid the previous assaults. The dark type shot forward and fiercely collided with Pikachu.

"Brai!" Braixen cried out in horror, watching the electric type slam into the nearby wall. Serena's starter's cry of terror alerted Darkrai of her presence. Singling her out as weak, Darkrai shot forward, ready to ambush Braixen with the same move that had mercilessly struck Pikachu.

Greninja and the three flying types reacted swiftly. The former, who was patiently waiting in the shadows, jumped magnificently to reach Darkrai's location. His arms began to glow and he slashed as soon as he was able to make contact, but to the Ninja Pokemon's surprise, his attack phased through Darkrai's body. Instead, his Aerial Ace almost collided with Hawlucha, who was planning to get the second strike on Darkrai.

The group battling the Pokemon of nightmares then noticed that there were now multiple Darkrai.

"...This is Double Team!" Ash shouted out in realization. Countless Darkrai were now soaring to the fire type's location. "Braixen, dodge the attack!" Ash called out desperately.

But Serena's Pokemon didn't respond. Braixen's body shook with fear, immobilizing her. All of the Pokemon present were trying their best to reach Braixen and counter Darkrai's attack, but Ash knew they wouldn't be able to reach her in time. However, he noticed was the closest to her.

Braixen snapped out of her trance, but by then it was too late. She instinctively closed her eyes and waited for the pain.

But it never came.

When Braixen opened her eyes seconds later, she saw almost all the Pokemon desperately trying to deal with the rampaging Darkrai, who was assaulting all the Pokemon around him relentlessly. But there was one Pokemon missing.

"Pika pi!" She heard Pikachu's cries of terror from behind her. When Braixen turned around, she was astonished at what she saw.

Ash was sat awkwardly against the wall, holding his chest. After she heard him groan in pain, she realized that he had taken the attack meant for her. Braixen rushed to Ash's side instantly and cried her eyes out.

"Hey... Braixen." He began, taking a moment to cough a few times. He stroked her head. "Don't worry. I'm just winded, that's all. Let me... catch my breath, alright?"

"Braixen, brai!" She continued to cry out to him.

Ash then understood why the fire type was so upset. "I took the attack meant for you and you feel... you feel guilty, right? Well, don't. Honestly! Don't worry about it." He continued, giving her a large grin. Pikachu, despite still being worried about his trainer, smiled at Braixen too. After all, he was not unfamiliar with his trainer's tendency to do reckless things.

"Brai..." She muttered, still feeling guilty.

Ash took a deep breath and slowly rose to his feet, using the nearby wall as support. He stretched his arms and grinned. "Braixen. It doesn't matter if you're human or Pokemon, I'll do anything to save a friend. That's why I'm here, after all! Now, let's save Serena!"


	17. It Hurts

A translucent screen appeared in front of Clemont and Emma, hovering gently in front of the glowing, red device. The scientist rested his chin on his fingers and entered a thinking pose. Emma's bright purple eyes remained locked onto the inventor, watching him with curiosity as he began to interact with the screen. Mimi rested in her arms, silently dozing off despite the chaotic sounds of battle from the other side of the room. It was a miracle Clemont was able to concentrate, though Emma did notice the pressure was getting to him as he frequently grunted in quiet frustration.

"Clemont," she started. She took a few footsteps forward, but stopped when Clemont moved his free hand forward in her direction, indicating that she had to stop. The inventor, with his other hand, selected a large red window on the screen. The device made a humming sound, shortly followed by the screen turning orange. The boy stood silently, a frown forming on his face. "Um... did you do it?" She questioned him with a hopeful tone of voice. Of course, she already knew the answer. That frown meant that something hadn't gone according to plan.

Turning his head to face her, Clemont's frown gently formed into a slight, but noticeable smile. He opened his mouth to chuckle softly to himself. "Well, not exactly." He replied. Emma noticed he didn't seem too unhappy about the situation all of a sudden. "I've been uh... outsmarted, by something I should have expected but didn't."

Emma was more perplexed about why the scientist seemed so amused about the situation. She sighed. "What do you mean, Clemont?"

Clemont clapped his hands, fidgeting with his fingers soon after. "How do I word this in the best way possible..." He muttered, seemingly unaware that Emma could hear him perfectly well. He began tapping his finger on his chin repeatedly, as if it would help him think.

"You were the one who told me that time is of the essence at the moment." The Kalosian girl reminded him.

He shivered at her comment. Emma purposely placed her hands on her sides and pouted at him, looking at him as disapprovingly as possible. This was not unnoticed by the gym leader. "F-fine. You win." He muttered. "It's password protected."

"You're kidding." She responded quickly. When he shook his head, she couldn't help but giggle to herself. "How does a password of all things stump you?"

Clemont took the defensive route. "I mean, I can bypass it! ...But I don't know if I have the time to do that and-"

His sentence morphed into mutters and then silence when Emma began to approach the translucent screen. Although the words were small, she read that it was indeed asking for a password. Several shapes were also featured on the screen and she concluded that a certain pattern had to be inputted in. She slowly smiled.

Emma began to tap on the screen with her right hand, using her left hand to support the now slumbering Espurr. "Square. Square. Circle. Triangle. Hexagon. Triangle. Square. Square. Circle. Square." She said, saying a new word every time she selected the corresponding shape.

Once she had finished, the screen turned green and hummed once more.

"How did you...?" Clemont began, astonished at what he had seen. Emma gave him a beaming grin.

"I have no idea what I was doing in that suit, but I do know I was working at Lysandre Café. Xerosic taught me that password. It was meant to be used to access our coffee machine of all things in case it malfunctioned." She tilted her head and winked at him. "Luckily for us, it seems he's used that password for pretty much everything. Isn't that wonderful?"

"I-I don't... I don't know what to say." Clemont responded, rubbing the back of his head. "That was amazing though, Emma."

Her cheeks warmed at his compliment and her grin grew. The two locked eyes with each other for a few seconds, both giving each other a smile.

The sound of two ferocious attacks colliding broke them out of their temporary trance.

"Um..." Emma was the first to speak. She looked to the side and saw the battle with Darkrai still raging on. Somehow, they had been completely oblivious to it the whole time. "W-We should get to work. T-time is of the essence and all, just like you said!"

"Y-Yes!" Clemont replied, standing complete up right, with no visible gaps between his limbs and his body. He looked like a soldier who was being talked to by his superior. Emma giggled at his embarrassment, but took note of the slight blush on his cheeks.

* * *

The battle with Darkrai was proving to be exhausting. The Legendary Pokemon was incredibly resistant to their attacks. While it has indeed taken countless attacks and was showing signs of exhaustion, it was still proving to be a formidable foe.

Many of Ash's Pokemon were beginning to show signs of incredible exhaustion. Noivern was the most wounded, most likely due to his young age and inexperience, but he refused to back down from the fight. Braixen was the least wounded physically due to her role as a ranged attacker, but she seemed more emotionally damaged. Ash figured the fire type was still thinking about the attack he had taken for her, but she tried her best to stay focused on the battle and not let her fear take over again.

It was for this reason that Ash hid the true pain he was feeling. He covered as much as his chest as he could with his arms. He reassured Pikachu that he just needed to stabilize his breathing, but that wasn't the full truth.

He didn't want them to see the red he knew was down there.

Darkrai was currently stationary, but his dark red eyes were locked on Greninja. The Ninja Pokemon was clung to the wall, waiting patiently for an order. While he was focusing on Darkrai as much as he could, he couldn't help but divert his attention to his trainer from time to time. Greninja looked down at his own body and tapped his stomach area gently. He closed his eyes and sighed.

But then he sensed the movement of his enemy.

Greninja didn't react fast enough. His eyes shot open when he realized Darkrai was about to attack him, but it was too late.

Except Greninja hadn't taken the attack, somebody else had taken it for him.

"Noivern!" Ash screamed. He saw through Greninja's eyes that Darkrai was aiming for him, but the brave dragon type had noticed their opponent's movement and took the attack for himself. Greninja reacted quickly, taking advantage of Darkrai's close proximity by slicing him with an Aerial Ace. The attack hadn't done much in terms of damage, but it gave them some distance.

Noivern was using his claw to grip to the wall, but exhaustion and pain soon overwhelmed him. He began to fall to the floor, but Hawlucha and Talonflame teamed up to catch him from his fall, bringing him to the ground safely.

"Lucha! Hawlucha!" Hawlucha cried out worryingly. Noivern opened his eyes slightly and silently responded to his father-figure.

Greninja hopped down from the wall and landed next to Noivern, staring directly into his eyes. "Gren... Greninja..." He muttered, bowing shortly afterwards. Ash could tell he was apologizing for not reacting fast enough.

But Ash knew why Greninja didn't do anything to counter Darkrai's attack. He gazed down at his stomach which he was still hiding. The pain he felt was still unbearable, but now he knew Greninja could feel it too.

Ash and Greninja had synchronized many times before, a process Sycamore named the Bond Phenomenon. They were connected, meaning whatever pain Greninja felt, Ash felt too. Ash had felt Greninja's pain many times before in battle, but he couldn't recall a time where Greninja felt his pain.

"Noivern," Ash said as he finished approaching his Pokemon. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his Poke Ball. "You did magnificently. I'm proud of you. Now, have a good rest." He finished, returning the Pokemon to its encapsulated home. Greninja kept his eyes locked on his trainer, watching the movement of the arm that returned the dragon type.

Darkrai then made his next move, rushing towards the group with relentless speed. Almost all of his Pokemon reacted quickly, beginning the process of creating their attacks.

The only one who didn't move an inch was Greninja. The two stared into each other's eyes.

"I'm sorry." He apologized. Greninja stared at him for a few moments, but then pointed at his stomach. "You saw it, didn't you? No, you felt it."

The water type nodded.

A combined Thunderbolt from Pikachu and Luxray collided with Darkrai. Ash was incredibly thankful that Pikachu and Luxray were working well together. Their capability of combining their electricity was doing wonders for them. Similarly, Hawlucha and Talonflame were working well together as well; the duo had known each other for a while, so understandably had good chemistry. Their improvisations were somewhat balancing Darkrai's unpredictably.

The electric shock dealt heavy damage to Darkrai, but the group fighting him noticed a change in his eyes.

Something in Pikachu and Luxray's electrifying strike had done something to greatly annoy the dark type. Darkrai raised his arms skyward. A sphere of complete darkness began to form in his hands, much bigger than any Shadow Ball the group had encountered.

Ash recognized what was happening instantly. He had faced this attack only hours ago. "...That's Dark Void... w-we... we can't do anything against that!"

* * *

"How is it going, Clemont?" Emma asked her friend, who was tapping constantly at the screen.

When she finished speaking, he stopped suddenly. He turned to her direction and Emma noticed his glasses were opaque. Clemont's neutral expression turned into a massive smirk. "There is no need to worry anymore, Emma! With the power of science, I have the ultimate solution to our problem!"

"R-Right..." She muttered. His tone of voice confused her. It was one of incredible excitement, which felt inappropriate for the scenario they were in, but she trusted him.

He reached into his bag and pulled out an oddly large device that looked like it shouldn't have fit in his bag at all. Emma sweated, feeling a little overwhelmed at how speedy Clemont was being. In a matter of seconds, he had linked his personal device to Team Flare's own one.

"So u-uh... what are you going to do, Clemont?" She asked him a little hesitantly. "I'm a little lost, to be honest."

"Emma!" He shouted loudly, startling her slightly, but she calmed down as although his voice was loud, it wasn't one of anger as she initially thought. His voice then became quiet, "Um... I have to confess. You're not needed after all. I have this all under control. You can watch the battle, if you like."

Emma's reaction made Clemont realize he had made a grave error. She glared at him with sinister eyes and pouted. "E-Excuse me?! I just helped you with that password! Don't dismiss me that easily!"

"N-no, that's not what I meant." He reacted quickly, waving his arms around frantically in defense. "I was talking about earlier when I said I needed two people-" However, he was quickly interrupted.

Emma turned her head to the side and closed her eyes, refusing to make eye contact with Clemont. "Whatever! Just do your thing." She snapped at him with a raised voice. "I'll stand here and watch the battle. That's what you want, right?" Emma groaned.

"Um... alright..." Clemont murmured, feeling a little guilty over his actions. He hadn't fully pieced together what he had done wrong, but he had to focus on something else first.

Emma frowned, realizing the tone of voice she had used. She thought for a while and realized she had misinterpreted his words from before. The Kalosian Gym Leader was nothing but kind to her and she felt legitimately terrible for snapping at him. "Now he's going to hate me... and he's a cute one, too..."

She turned her head to face the battle Ash was having with the legendary Pokemon, Darkrai.

"C-Clemont..." Emma called the inventor's name, her voice incredibly uneasy all of a sudden.

Clemont didn't notice the tone at first. "I'm nearly done." he began, his voice sounding a little agitated. He observed this and immediately calmed himself. "Look, I'm sorry I made you upset, Emma. I really didn't mean it, alright? Can... can we talk about this later, or something?

"T-That's fine, Clemont. I o-overacted, b-but... look...Darkrai..."

Clemont then heard how terrified she sounded. He stopped what he was doing and turned around, his jaw dropping. He saw Darkrai with his arms in the air, siphoning the darkness around him. He had witnessed that attack before.

"Oh no..." He murmured, staring at the legendary Pokemon. He then blinked several times and rubbed his eyes. "Emma, I take it back! I do need your help! I have no time to shut it down manually now. I need to do something incredibly risky and I need your help."

His voice was fast and frantic. Emma nodded immediately. "Alright. Tell me what I need to do and fast!"

* * *

Ash's heart thumped rapidly and loudly. Almost every sound was drained by the sound of his heart crying out in pain and suffering.

"We've lost..." He thought. "We've lost... we've lost..." His voice echoed throughout his mind several times.

Darkrai's entire body was glowing with its dark, sinister energy.

"Serena..." His mind went to her. He saw her warm smile. He was here because of her. He was going to save her. He had to.

"Gren..." He heard Greninja, but it was like a whisper to him. His companion felt the excruciating pain he was feeling as well. Ash Ketchum felt terrible, knowing he couldn't hide his agony and that Greninja had to feel the same despair he was experiencing.

The red aura around the room suddenly vanished. Darkrai began to yell in pain, losing control of his body as he smashed into a nearby wall. The remaining Pokemon watched astonishingly as the Pokemon's body turned back to its usual black.

"It worked!"

That was Clemont's voice, but it was more faint than even Greninja's own cry.

Ash opened his eyes and saw a blurry world. He could make out his Pokemon, but at the same time they were almost unrecognizable. It was a strange feeling.

He yelped when his sight began to forcefully move upwards.

He was falling.

When Ash met the ground, his vision turned black.

* * *

 **I'd like to quickly shoutout muk854, FantasyLover88, Girlgamer9876, TheShapeH31 and that one Guest (you know who you are) for being super consistent reviewers. Your reviews are great and encourage me to continue this story so you can keep enjoying it.**

 **Of course, I'd like to thank everyone who has read this story as well. Whether you've favorited, followed or just read a few chapters, the support is appreciated. Thank you!**

 **This sounds like something you'd put at the end of a story, but nope... this story is really just beginning. I have some exciting stuff planned that I hope you all enjoy.**


	18. After the Battle

"Bonnie!"

The youngster grinned happily upon hearing her brother's voice. She turned around, only to be immediately picked up and hugged by Clemont.

"J-jeez, big brother! You don't have to squeeze me that hard! I feel like I'm going to be sick!" Bonnie complained loudly. The gym leader loosened his grip, allowing his younger sister to slide back down onto the ground. She crossed her arms and pouted at him briefly, but couldn't help but slowly smile. "Did you do it?" she asked, excitement building up within her.

Clemont didn't react immediately, but he eventually grinned. "Yeah. Team Flare has been taken care of. They're in the process of being locked up." he provided her with an answer. He took the time to observe the corridor they were in. Chespin was by a wall sleeping. Bunnelby seemingly was trying to sleep as well, but couldn't block out the grass type's snoring.

"That's great news!" Her response was enthusiastic and of general excitement. "Y'know," she began. "I was pretty great too. Aliana and a bunch of grunts showed up to take Serena away, but I wouldn't let them!"

Clemont let out a long sigh. "I'm glad you're safe. I felt terrible leaving you here, even if you were with Serena's mother and my Pokemon." He confessed.

"She performed spectacularly." A mature, female voice was added into the conversation. Grace appeared from the nearby door and approached the brother and sister. Her eyes narrowed and she glared at Clemont. "However, I can't say I approve of leaving a little girl here to deal with those dangerous people. Was there no better solution?"

Clemont sweated and put his hands up in defense. "I-I'm sorry, but I knew we needed all the power we could get to finish Team Flare, and we also needed Serena to be protected and Bonnie was the only one who could protect her..." He hurriedly justified himself.

"Well, I don't care, it was fun. Besides, we won pretty easily." Bonnie reassured her brother. "Officer Jenny showed up afterwards and took them away. We're the only ones in this building now."

"That reminds me," Clemont started. His mouth frowned and the other two people present noticed he looked a little annoyed. "Well, the Lumiose press caught wind of what was going on... somehow. I don't know if you're aware of this, but the whole hospital is surrounded by the police and media. Thankfully, the police aren't letting the reporters in. From what I've gathered, they think there's been a terrorist attack here, but they don't know anything more than that."

Grace looked irritated by the inventor's revelation. "I don't want my little girl's condition to be broadcast around the entire region."

"That's why we're getting her out as soon as possible, miss." Clemont responded, trying his best to not sound sarcastic in his answer.

"If the hospital is surrounded, how did you even get in here, big brother?" Bonnie questioned, giving her sibling a look of curiosity.

Clemont pointed upwards and grinned. "Alain and Charizard gave me a flight. The professor's calling in some favors so we can get Serena out of here." He informed them. "How is she, by the way?"

"She's been sleeping peacefully." Serena's mother responded immediately. She crossed her arms and stared directly into the scientist's eyes. "Where does the professor plan on taking my daughter, Clemont?"

Grace's consistent harsh tone of voice was beginning to bother Clemont, but he understood it was just her motherly instincts kicking in.

"His lab. If Professor Sycamore's hypothesis is correct, Serena will be waking up any day now." He finally gave them the news they were waiting for. He gave them a smile of joy and pride.

Grace and Bonnie were shocked by the sudden announcement and remained speechless momentarily. He noticed they were looking at him in disbelief initially, but slowly began to grasp the meaning behind his words.

"Wait, really?!" Bonnie asked him excitedly. Her brother gave his response in the form of a nod. "Why didn't you start with that, big brother?!"

"Clemont, is this true?" Grace added her own question, withholding the inner excitement building up within so she could make sure the news was accurate.

"Well, we don't know for sure, but we do know we can't keep her here." He told them. He scratched the back of his neck and laughed. "Sorry I didn't lead with that, I guess I got sidetracked."

"That... that is a huge relief, even if we don't know for sure." Grace confessed.

Bonnie walked up to her brother and tugged on his sleeve. "Hey, where is Ash?"

Clemont knew that somebody was going to ask that question eventually, but he still shivered upon hearing it. His hands curled into fists and his breathing became rugged and abnormal. Bonnie noticed her brother's discontent immediately and looked at him with worry.

"What happened to Ash, Clemont?" Grace repeated Bonnie's question, her own curiosity getting the better of her.

"...He's been injured, but he's going to be okay."

* * *

Sycamore groaned. He sat down on a nearby chair and rested his elbows on the desk, using his hands to support his head. Relaxing and closing his eyes, the professor took several deep breaths. He grabbed a mug on the desk and slowly spun it around.

His eyes eventually moved to the left, targeting a boy who was lying peacefully in a bed. If it wasn't for the abundance of medical equipment surrounding Ash, it would look like he was just sleeping.

The professor's eyes blurred as his concentration moved to his thoughts rather than his sight. Sycamore didn't realize when the young trainer began to fidget.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow..."

The faint grunts of pain snapped Sycamore out of his thoughts and he shot up in a hurry.

"Ash, you're awake...?" Sycamore whispered, approaching the boy as quickly as possible. He hoped his calm voice could help him receive a response from the boy.

"...Yeah. In a lot of pain though." He answered, grumbling between words as he tried to sit up.

The professor reached out and placed his hand on the trainer's shoulder. This had the effect of making the boy stop his movement. "Ash, I need you to lay back down, alright?"

Ash trusted the professor's words and reversed his earlier progression. He was still experiencing the same pain, but as he fully laid down, it began to fade away slowly and he relaxed. After taking some time to stabilize his breathing, he spoke, "What happened to me, professor?"

Satisfied that the Kanto native was in a more stable state, Sycamore sat back down on his chair, taking a sip of his drink. "Alain and I were about to head deeper into Team Flare's underground headquarters to find you and Clemont. However, Clemont found us first."

"Then what?" Ash requested a continuation of the story.

"Clemont and Emma were carrying you. You were unconscious and well... you didn't look great at all, to say the least."

Ash took some time to respond. The boy's eyes stared at the ceiling, recalling the events that lead to his current condition. "It was that Darkrai. I took a powerful attack meant for Braixen. It collided with me. I remember trying to hide my pain. Winning that battle was more important and the Pokemon were relying on me for strategy."

Sycamore sighed at his answer. "Darkrai didn't just collide with you, Ash. A collision would have still hurt a lot, yes, but Darkrai also well... pierced your body."

Ash's eyes widened upon hearing Sycamore's sudden revelation. "That... how? Pikachu took the same attack and he was fine so-"

When Ash stopped in mid-sentence, Sycamore figured out what was going to happen next. Ash shot up and frantically moved his head around. "Pikachu! Pikachu's fine, r-right?" He yelled desperately. The agonizing pain caught up to him and Ash grabbed his chest, groaning horribly as he tried his best to avoid making any sound.

Sycamore was about to try to calm the boy, but Ash stopped his panicking when he saw that the two were not alone.

In a separate bed on the other side of the room, he saw a familiar Pokemon.

Ash placed his hand on his chest. Manifestations of his pain and sorrow formed in his eyes and he began to sob. Sycamore watched as the young trainer began to cry. Ash used his free hand to cover his mouth, lowing the sound of his despair.

Sycamore stood back up and sat on the bed next to the trainer. "Ash, look at me."

Ash didn't move at all. He only continued his heartbreaking wailing.

"Ash!" Sycamore raised his voice. This time, the trainer locked eyes with him. "He's going to be okay."

"B-but, Greninja..." He muttered, his sobbing becoming almost uncontrollably.

"Ash..." The professor murmured, having never seen the trainer break down before. The realization that one of his Pokemon had gotten hurt because of his actions was breaking him inside.

"Greninja... h-he felt the pain too! I... I thought so, b-but... I-I still... I..."

The Kalosian gazed over at the water-type resting in the other bed. Greninja was in a peaceful slumber, not making any form of motion.

"Greninja is going to be fine. He's recovering very well. Your other Pokemon are absolutely fine as well, but they are worried sick about you."

The trainer from Pallet sniffed several times, trying to maintain his built up sadness. "I... I want to see them... Pikachu, Talonflame, Hawlucha and Noivern. I..."

"I will go and fetch them." Sycamore answered. "You stay put, okay? If you move too much, you might cause more damage to your body. Understood?"

Sycamore waited for his response, which he received when Ash gave him an acknowledging nod. He quietly left the room, leaving the trainer to his thoughts.

The professor sighed when he closed the doors. He crossed his arms and stood momentarily. With one final deep breath, he began to walk towards the location of Ash's Pokemon. He thought back to moments before, seeing Ash in that terrible state. He hoped he could restore the boy to his usual happy self as soon as possible.

Sycamore had placed Ash's Pokemon within the area of his lab where the other Pokemon that he studied and looked after were kept. While they consisted mostly of the Kalos starters, they were friendly and he figured the distraction would do Ash's Pokemon well.

When the automatic doors opened, Sycamore wasn't surprised when the four Pokemon he was looking for rushed to his side.

"Pika!" Pikachu was the first to call out to the professor. Sycamore figured his presence would make the Pokemon nervous and apprehensive, so he had to clear their doubts instantly.

"Ash is awake." He gave them the good news. All four had reached his location by this point and were excited by the news. "He is still injured, but he wants to see you all."

The largest of the group, Noivern, stepped forward, directing all attention to him. "Noi?" He asked in a questioning tone, a tone Sycamore recognized thanks to his work with Pokemon.

"Greninja is doing well as well, but he is not awake yet." Sycamore answered. "Don't worry though. Both are going to make a full recovery. All we need to do now is wait for that moment to arrive."

* * *

"This is frustrating."

Clemont shrugged his shoulders at Alain's comment, deciding to sit down upon the hospital roof, watching his Chespin and Bunnelby play. Well, Chespin was attempting to play some sort of game, but Bunnelby was completed uninterested.

Alain was passing the time by gazing down at the ground below, watching the chaos of the media and the police trying to stop them. He couldn't blame the reporters though. The police surrounding an entire building and rumors of a terrorist attack? The media had to know what was going on.

"I'm fine with helping Serena, don't get me wrong, but it frustrates me that Mairin is still in Laverre City." Alain continued, venting out his worries. "I should have gone to get her. Bryony may be taken care of, but what about the rest of that hospital? It could very well be occupied by Team Flare just as this one was. "

Clemont smiled, even though the person he was holding a conversation with couldn't see it. "Sophie and Cosette have gone to get her. They're assistants of the professor like you, right? I heard they're capable trainers too. Mairin is going to be safe."

"I know that... it's just..." He started. Before he could continue manifesting his thoughts into speech, the door opening caught his attention.

"Wow, fresh air!" Bonnie cheered, hopping up and down excitedly, marveling at the bright blue sky above them. "It feels like we were stuck in there for hours!

Next to come out was Emma, who had accompanied Alain and Clemont to the hospital. She grinned at the young girl's excitement and waved at Clemont, who hesitantly waved back.

The last person to walk into the outdoor world was Grace, who was holding her daughter with a tight grip, not willing to risk Serena suffering from any potential further damage. Accompanying her were Serena's Pancham and Sylveon, who shared the adult woman's desire to protect the young performer.

"Wait..." Bonnie paused her movement, taking in the breathtaking view of Lumiose City from this high up. She turned to Alain and looked into his eyes. "How are we even going to transport Serena? Charizard is really strong but he can't carry all of us."

Alain crossed his arms and couldn't help but grin at the girl. "He's not going to, silly."

Right on cue, the quiet sounds of machinery entered their ears. Moments later, the group noticed a helicopter heading straight towards them. It was difficult to see due to the bright sunlight, but it was clear their way out of there was secured.

Well, it feels like the worst of this mess is over." The Kalosian gym leader thought with a smile, watching the helicopter land. That smile quickly vanished, however. "...At least, I hope."


	19. We've Waited so Long

The professor of the Kalos region smiled warmly, watching Ash surrounded by his Pokemon. He stood outside the entrance, peeking in through a crack in the door. He listened to the trainer talk freely with his Pokemon. It was a fantastic change of emotion. Moments before, the trainer was reacting to Greninja's injuries extremely negatively, letting his emotions free in the form of tears. But now, he was overwhelmed by the positivity his other Pokemon were showing him. They were overjoyed to see he was alright and their presence was restoring him to his usual, happy self.

"What an incredible trainer," Sycamore thought, continuing to watch Ash and his Pokemon. "I've never seen Pokemon filled with such happiness. They all share a powerful bond with him."

Ash was stroking his starter's head, relaxing Pikachu instantaneously and making him sleepy. Hawlucha was showing off with his moves, putting nothing but grins on Ash and the Pokemon around him. Noivern cheered him on, always having been the closest to Hawlucha. Talonflame was the quietest, but was enjoying the interactions between everyone. Sycamore noticed the flying type was keeping a close eye on Greninja, assumingly the most worried about him aside from the trainer himself. It made sense why to Sycamore, as Talonflame had known Greninja the longest.

"Professor, we're back!"

Sycamore turned around and saw a group of individuals walking towards him. Five in total, with an additional person in the arms of another.

The professor nodded and walked up to the oldest in the room. Grace watched as he observed her daughter. "She's looking stable. That's good." He commented.

"Is it true, professor? Will Serena wake up soon?" Bonnie asked, tugging on his sleeve to get his attention.

The Kalos Professor patted the youngster's head and smiled, "It's very likely, Bonnie."

"Do you mind if we check in on Ash?" Clemont questioned, seeing an opportunity to talk. "He's probably still asleep but-

"Actually, he's woken up!"

"Really?!" Clemont and Bonnie simultaneously responded.

After receiving a nod in response, Clemont and Bonnie immediately ran past the professor towards the entrance of Ash's room. Alain informed the professor he was going to wait outside for Mairin's arrival and soon left as well, but not before asking Sycamore to tell Ash he said hello. Emma stood awkwardly, not making much of a sound. The professor had figured out the girl was feeling guilty for her actions, even if she wasn't in control. After some time, she looked up, bit her lip and walked towards Ash's room.

The door shut, leaving Sycamore with Serena's mother, who was still carefully holding her daughter in her arms.

"Professor," the adult woman started. "Will my daughter really be okay? I... I'm still not really sure what was causing in her coma in the first place. I have some sort of idea, but I don't have the full picture. Do you know?"

"Yes, we do now." He replied, crossing his arms and taking a deep breath, ready to begin his explanation. "Your daughter was locked in an endless sleep through the power of the legendary Pokemon, Darkrai. It was controlled by Xerosic, the leader of Team Flare, who was using Serena's condition to his advantage to draw in Ash and Alain. He wanted revenge against them."

"That's horrible!" was Grace's only response. The older woman looked shocked at Sycamore's explanation, now finally having a grasp of what was truly happening.

"It's okay now, though." Sycamore tried to settle her down. "Team Flare is no more, for certain this time."

* * *

"So that is how you did it, huh?" Ash responded to his close friend, Clemont. The scientist was recalling how he and Emma managed to shut down the device that was controlling Darkrai.

"Yeah, a huge electrical shock managed to forcefully shut it down. It was a risky move and could have backfired on us, but well... we had no choice, really. Time was of the essence." The scientist concluded his story.

Clemont was sat on Ash's bed on one side, with Ash's Pokemon on the other. Bonnie was busy playing Serena's Pokemon in the corner of the room. with Emma reached out with her hand and grabbed a nearby chair, placing it next to the bed and sitting down.

"Um..." she muttered, loud enough for Ash and Clemont to divert their attention to her, however. She noticed their eyes were on her and she hid her face with her hands in embarrassment. Mimi immediately hopped into her lap and tugged on her arm, seemingly worried about Emma. "O-oh, sorry Mimi. I'm okay." She apologized.

Mimi, content with her answer, got comfortable and began the process of taking a nap while on Emma's lap. The young girl released her hands and carefully stroked Mimi's fur, planting a smile on her face.

"Did you want to say something, Emma?" Clemont asked himself.

"I... I just wanted to apologize, that's all." She said, lowering her head a little in the process.

"It's okay," Ash immediately replied, raising his head slightly to lock eyes with the girl. "You didn't do anything wrong."

"But... you could say it's all my fault that everything happened; Serena's coma and now your injury." She insisted.

"Emma," Clemont started. The girl relocated her focus instantly to the scientist. "You said yourself that you couldn't remember anything as Essentia. Xerosic used you for his own benefit with you knowing. You're not to blame, and we're not blaming you either."

"I'm still sorry. If there is anyway I can repay you for all of this mess, please, let me know." She told them.

Ash was about to respond, assumingly to say that any repayment wasn't needed, but Clemont cut him off.

"If it'll make you feel less guilty, maybe you could work for me as an assistant at the gym?" He shared his thoughts.

"Really? That sounds amazing!" She replied, a joyful smile forming on her face.

"Are you sure, Clemont?" Ash inquired.

Clemont nodded several times. "Yeah, Clembot's repairs aren't fully complete and it'll help her get back on her feet. I don't see why not."

"No way!" A loud shriek interrupted them. They turned to the source of the voice, Bonnie, who was smiling widely at Clemont. "You're going to invite a girl over to live with us?!"

"Wait I didn't say-"

It was too late. Bonnie was already on one knee in front of Emma. She raised her hand towards the older girl's face, her grin growing. "Miss, you're absolutely perfect! Take care of my big brother, s'il-vous plait!"

Emma stood with a face of confusion before realizing what Bonnie was implying, instantly brightening her face. Clemont froze at his sister's declaration for a few seconds. Upon finally freeing himself from his frozen state, he rushed towards Bonnie and dragged her out of the room. During the whole event, Ash was laughing.

* * *

Sycamore had taken Grace to a secluded room where they could leave Serena to rest. After some final testing, the professor confirmed that she was stable and it was most likely a case of when her body decided to wake her up. He also recommended against waking her up manually, instead suggesting the best option would be a natural awakening.

Grace was thankful for the professor's help as he escorted all of Serena's Pokemon into the room and quietly left, allowing them to spend time with the young trainer.

Serena's mother took the time to notice the bond her daughter shared with her Pokemon. It was incredible how worried they were for her; Braixen especially, who went with Ash and the others to solve the problems with Team Flare, all to save her trainer.

When no eyes were on her, Serena's hand stirred.

* * *

"Ash, what are you doing out of bed?!"

A few hours had passed and Ash had found himself incredibly bored. He had enjoyed the conversations he was having with Clemont, Emma and Bonnie, but there was only so much they could talk about. Some of his Pokemon had gotten a little bored themselves too, but they didn't want to leave their trainer's side regardless due to their respect of him. When Ash noticed this, he told them to head out, get some exercise and do whatever they wanted. He didn't mind one bit. The only one who remained with him was Pikachu, who kept a vigilant eye on both him and Greninja, the latter of whom was still sleeping.

"Sorry, professor." He apologized. Shortly after letting his Pokemon roam free, he decided to get up. It took some time for his body to adjust to the movement but he managed to free himself from the bed. He had spent a few minutes looking out the window, watching Lumiose City in action before the professor walked in. The sun was beginning to set and he found himself admiring its temporary departure from the world, alongside all the many little things he wouldn't notice otherwise, such as a flock of Fletching soaring across the city.

Sycamore sighed. "I suppose I can't help it. Are you still in pain?"

"A little," he admitted. "Nowhere near as bad as earlier, at least. I can endure it."

Sycamore took a nearby chair and quietly sat down. "That wound... it seems to be healing quickly, but I need to tell you that it will likely leave a large scar."

Ash didn't say anything for a few seconds. Pikachu looked at his trainer, waiting for a change of expression. Ash then grinned. "Oh well. That sounds pretty cool, actually."

The Kalosian adult was a little shocked at Ash's statement, but then remembered who he was talking to. "Well, as long as you don't mind it, then there's no issue."

"It'll be fine. It'll be like a cool souvenir from the Kalos region!" He said excitedly. "Besides, I'll always remember I only got it to save a friend. I have no regrets."

"Pika pi!" Pikachu said with the same excitement, raising his arm in agreement. The electric type wasn't sure how to react to the scientist's news initially, but decided he didn't have a problem with it if Ash didn't either.

Sycamore chuckled to himself. Not too soon after, he found himself yawning and instinctively stretching his arms. "I think I'm going to go to bed early. Can you promise me you won't leave this room, Ash? Make sure you get a good night's sleep too."

"Okay then." Ash replied. "Thanks again for all of your help, professor."

* * *

Sycamore closed the door behind him and found himself stretching again. He admittedly hadn't gotten much sleep since Team Flare's initial assault on Lumiose City. He had a significant role in overseeing repairs to the city and then the whole situation with Xerosic occurred. With things finally settling down, he was looking forward to a good night's sleep.

"Professor, we have an emergency!"

The voice belonged to Grace, who ran up to the professor with a look of panic on her face. She was shortly followed by Clemont, Bonnie and Emma. He had offered rooms to the three of them, explaining their presence despite the day turning into night. The first two understandably wanted to stay as close to possible to Ash and Serena, but he was surprised to find out earlier in the day that Emma was homeless. He was aware the girl was poor, but he was shocked to find out she had no family aside from Mimi.

What concerned him now was that they all shared a significant look of panic on their face, some more so than others, but it was there.

Grace tried to say something, but found herself stuttering.

"Professor, it's..." Clemont started.

"Serena...!" Bonnie finished for him.

"Has she finally woken up?" Sycamore questioned them, matching the urgency in their voices. However, he recalled their terrified looks and realized that couldn't be the answer. Something unexpected had happened to the girl.

"What's happened?" Ash's voice called out to them from the door. They turned to face him directly and he noticed their distressed faces. "Serena... I heard her name and came out. Is she alright?"

"She... she's woken up." Serena's mother revealed. Ash didn't notice that her words were not said with an expected excitement.

"Really?!" Ash reacted immediately, hurrying towards the older woman but stopping mid-air due to a surge of pain. The boy began to lose his balance, but was caught by Clemont who reacted just in time. Ash looked up and saw the looks of sorrow on their faces. "But... but that's good! We're waited so long... why is everyone so sad?!"

"She's gone, Ash." Clemont answered.

Moments passed with no sound. Ash lowered his head, hiding his face with his cap.

"Gone? What do you mean?" Sycamore broke the silence with a question.

"She..." Grace began an explanation on what had happened. "She woke up all of a sudden. She... she stared at me and... she just left. Her Pokemon followed her but... I couldn't keep up."

"We have to find her!" Ash yelled, raising his head at last. A look of determination formed on his face.

"Pika pika!" Pikachu agreed with his trainer's statement.

"You can't go, Ash. You're in no condition to be running around!" Sycamore responded to him, slightly raising his voice to stop the trainer from doing anything reckless.

But Sycamore's words had no effect on the Kanto trainer. He quickly headed back into his room and put on a pair of shoes, emerging moments later.

Still in a simple t-shirt and shorts Sycamore had provided him while his ordinary clothes were being cleaned, he made his way through the small crowd and headed towards the exit. His unstable walking turned into a fast run where he began to frequently lose his balance, but Ash didn't care.

"Ash, wait up!" Clemont yelled at the boy, but he failed to gain his attention. The inventor sighed and chased after his friend. Bonnie, in turn, followed her big brother.

"Do you know where Serena went?" Sycamore asked Grace, wishing to gain any additional information he could.

"No, I lost track of her when she was leaving the building. She could be anywhere." Grace answered. The mother's eyes began to water in shame and sadness.

"Don't worry. We will find her."


	20. Serena Wakes Up

"Grace, you need to tell me everything that happened."

While Ash and the others had already left the building to search for the performer, Sycamore decided it was more important to retrieve as much information as possible before taking action.

Grace stared at him, her breathing still uneasy due to the events that had taken place. She swallowed and nodded, willing to accept Sycamore's request.

* * *

Grace had found herself absorbed in a book that the professor had provided her. It had plenty of details on what the Kalos region knew about Mega Evolution at this point of time. The concept had intrigued her, especially after seeing it in action during the Kalos League, and she wanted to learn more about it.

Serena had made no movement, as far as she could tell, in the past few hours. She believed the professor's words, but doubts were beginning to form. She figured it was her impatience as she wanted to see her daughter wake up as soon as possible, but it was proving difficult to keep her thoughts focused on the supposed fact that Serena would be okay. She was naturally worried that things would go horribly wrong.

Grace appreciated getting to properly know Serena's Pokemon. They were all gentle and a pleasure to be around with personalities that matched well with her daughter. Pancham and Sylveon were currently passing the time by playing a game of tag together. Although the room was small, there was enough room for them to run around a little. Grace felt more connected to Braixen though. They both shared a similar worry for Serena where they were still slightly scared even after being told good news after good news.

Braixen was leaning her head on the side of the bed, her eyes frequently targeting her trainer. The fire type had yawned several times over the course of the hour, but was trying her best to resist the temptation of sleep.

But when Serena's hand made a hint of movement, she shot up. This caught the attention of everybody else in the room.

"Brai!" She said, trying to hold back any excitement in case it was a false alarm. She pointed to the hand that she saw move. Pancham jumped onto the edge of the bed while Sylveon put her front legs up onto it, allowing them to see what was going on.

Her hand began to move faster before clenching the sheets of the bed.

"...no..." A quiet whimper escaped Serena's mouth. Despite its low volume, the silence in the room made sure everyone heard it.

"S...Serena?" Grace whispered, not entirely sure how to react.

Her mouth opened slightly, revealing her teeth that were colliding fiercely together.

Within one single second, Serena's eyes opened widely and her body shot up. Her breathing was rugged, loud and unstable. She grabbed her hair and pulled on it fiercely.

"Brai, Braixen!" Braixen reacted first, calling out to her trainer

Pancham, although startled by his trainer's sudden reaction, called out as well, shortly followed by Sylveon.

"Serena!" Grace yelled. With tears forming in her eyes, she lunged forward towards her daughter and wrapped her in a tight hug.

The young Kalosian girl didn't say anything. Grace eventually retracted her hug and watched her daughter's face carefully. She looked absolutely terrified.

"Where... where am I?" She questioned quietly and to no one in particular.

"You're at-"

Serena's reaction to her mother beginning to speak had a disastrous effect on the young girl. Her body immediately shifted towards Grace's direction and she yelped. She almost fell backwards, but managed to stabilize herself by placing her hands on the bed. However, Serena's arms began to shake and they quickly gave in. Luckily, Sylveon acted fast and provided balance to her trainer with her feelers.

Mother and daughter stared directly into each other's eyes. Both pairs of eyes began to tear up, but for completely different reasons.

Serena maneuvered her body to face the side of the bed. She placed a hand on Sylveon's feelers and tried to remove their grip. Noticing she was making her trainer uncomfortable, Sylveon removed her feelers from Serena's body.

Still not saying a word, Serena looked at her hands, then her arms and finally what she was wearing. Upon seeing the hospital clothing, her hands curled into fists. She jumped off the bed, almost losing her balance.

Sylveon, once again, provided assistance to make sure Serena did not fall. Her legs were wobbly and her body continued to shake. After a few seconds, she hesitantly withdrew her feelers.

"Serena, are you..." Grace started, but didn't finish. She had no idea what to say.

Serena observed the room, moving her head and body around frequently but never locking eyes with anybody in the room.

Her legs began to move. What became a slow walk turned into a fast run. Serena jolted out of the room as fast as her aching legs could take her. Braixen quickly sprinted after her. Pancham and Sylveon nodded to each other and ran after them as well.

"Wait... Serena! Come back!" Grace called out, reacting a little too late. She excited the room, noticing Serena at the end of the corridor with her Pokemon almost catching up to her. "Serena!" She called out once again.

Maneuvering the twists and turns present within Sycamore's lab was painful as Grace didn't want to lose track of her daughter. She continuously called out to the young trainer, begging for some form of acknowledgement.

"Hey! What's going on?!" A voice from behind slowed her down. Grace turned around and saw Clemont and Bonnie, close friends of her daughter, chasing after her. The owner of the voice, Clemont, was trying his best to speed up, but his speed was certainly not his specialty.

"It's Serena! She woke up but... she's running away!"

"What?!" Bonnie screamed with a mixture of excitement and shock. The young girl began to speed up. "Hurry up, big brother!"

"Aaaah!" A scream from the front caught their attention. However, the scream didn't belong to Serena, but instead it was Emma.

Emma looked like she had fallen on the floor and was struggling to get up. The three stopped upon reaching her, with Clemont quickly reaching out with his hand to pull her up. His grip wasn't that strong and she almost pulled him back down with her. Bonnie and Grace provided additional strength and brought the brunette back onto her feet.

"Emma, are you alright?" Clemont questioned her, using the opportunity provided to regain his breath.

"Just about..." She responded, stretching her muscles as she spoke. "But... that was Serena just now! I was taking the corner and she almost collided with me. I panicked and ended up falling down, which was super great. Her Pokemon were right behind her, too."

"Do you know where she went?" Grace asked in a desperate tone. The older woman was trying her best to control her tears; she was panicking.

"She went that way." Emma replied, pointing to the direction she came from. The group looked towards the area where Emma was pointing at, but they soon realized it was too late. Their temporary stop had given Serena and her Pokemon enough time to escape their view. There were too many paths to take now and they had no idea which one Serena had taken.

"SERENA!" Grace screamed. Moments passed with no form of response. Grace fell forward, landing on her knees. She sulked as quietly as possible.

"She's gone... We... we need to tell the professor!" Clemont told them, taking charge of the situation.

"And Ash! He has to know too!" Bonnie added.

* * *

"...and that's when we came to you." Grace finished her story. Sycamore understood her pain; while he had no children of his own yet, he understood how painful it must have been to see her own child act like that.

"Professor!"

Sycamore looked up and saw his assistant, Alain, walking towards him. "Alain? Has Mairin not arrived yet?"

The trainer looked a little agitated. "No, she hasn't." He replied. "But what's going on with Ash? He ran right past me without saying a word. Clemont, Bonnie and Emma were running after him but they stopped to tell me to talk to you as they didn't have the time."

"Serena has woken up, Alain." Sycamore informed the Mega Evolution trainer.

"That's... that's amazing! That must mean Mairin too... but... your tone of voice tells me things haven't gone according to plan." Alain noticed, his chin landing on several fingers as he began to theorize about what had happened.

The scientist nodded at his assistant. "Serena did wake up, but she panicked and ran. Her behavior was... uncharacteristic, to say the least. Ash and the others have gone to look for her, but we have no idea where she's gone."

* * *

"Ash, stop!" Clemont begged his friend. Ash had decided to head into the city, but was struggling to keep his footing, especially with the traffic and pedestrians around. Many people were giving him odd looks, but he didn't care.

The boy finally stopped when his eyes were temporarily distracted and he almost collided with a crowd of people. This gave Clemont, Bonnie and Emma the precious time they needed to catch up with him.

Clemont grabbed him with enough force to stop him from running away. The inventor felt a little bad about his actions, but he knew it was necessary and that they needed to calm down Ash.

"Ash, listen to us!" Bonnie pleaded with him.

"We won't be able to find Serena if you run off recklessly like that, Ash." Clemont told him.

"But, I need to-"

"Ash, Lumiose City is massive!" Emma was the next to reply, cutting off the Kanto trainer. "The chances of us finding her are small. We need to back to the professor's lab and decide what to do from there!"

"I can't do that, Emma! I need to find her!" Ash raised his voice at her.

"Pika!" Pikachu agreed with his trainer.

Emma was silenced at Ash's response, but it wasn't from the tone of his voice; it was from the sorrow she felt spilling out of it.

Clemont sighed. "We want to find her too, but we can't do it like this."

"But..." He started, but was unsure what to say next.

"Pika pi..." Pikachu whispered, trying to get his trainer's attention.

"...You're right." Ash gave in. He gently stroked his chest, feeling the countless bandages underneath his clothing. "But... she's alone..."

"No, she isn't." Clemont corrected him. "Her Pokemon are with her. They will make sure she is safe."

Ash swallowed and took a deep breath. "...Alright. Let's head back."

* * *

Sycamore was a little shocked to find Ash back so soon. The boy had his eyes to the ground, indicating that their search wasn't successful.

"Did you find my baby girl?!" Grace demanded an answer, running up the group as soon as she saw them.

"...Sorry. We haven't yet." Emma admitted the truth to them, realizing Ash, Clemont and Bonnie weren't in the best of moods to talk.

"Ash," Alain called out to his rival. The trainer looked up and the two locked eyes. Alain felt his melancholy immediately. "We will find her, alright? You have three flying types, so you can send them to search from above. Charizard and I will help out too."

"Ash, I need to check on your wound." Sycamore informed the boy.

Ash bit his lip and seemed displeased by the scientist's comment. "Sorry, professor. I can't. I need to find her. I can't stop thinking about her and if she'll be alright. We've... we've waited so long for her to wake up and now she's vanished!"

"I understand that Ash, but..." He started, but he began to read the boy's expression. Ash had already made up his mind. "Alright, but please promise me you'll be as safe as you can be. If you are too reckless, that wound might reopen."

Ash nodded in response. "I understand, professor. Let's go and-"

A loud sound from the heavens interrupted their conversation. They looked above and saw raindrops beginning to fall onto the ground outside. Soon after, the clouds themselves began to growl immensely.

The group headed to a nearby window and saw the chaotic weather outside. Not only was it raining fiercely, but the wind itself was proving to be a nuisance to the people who were already outside and caught up in the sudden outburst.

"We can't head out in that weather!" Bonnie was the first to response to the event, her voice leaking frustration.

"Professor, do you have a coat I can borrow?" Ash asked.

Augustine Sycamore knew there was no point in trying to convince the trainer to stay. He acknowledged the request with a simple nod.

"I'm going with him." Alain mentioned to the group. "It's my fault everything happened in the first place anyway."

Several people present wanted to respond to his statement and tell him no one was blaming him, but before they could speak, somebody beat them to the punch with a different statement altogether.

"I'd... I'd like to go, as well." Emma commented, a little shyly. "...I... I just want to help all I can. Xerosic caused all this and I helped him further his goals. I have to do something!"

"No one blames you two for anything." Clemont responded with a quiet chuckle. "Don't feel so sorry for yourself, alright? Let's focus on finding Serena."

"Right." Everyone replied one by one.

* * *

Serena didn't know where she was. The only thing she did know was that she was in the middle of a wooded area and that was she in incredible pain.

She was wearing no footwear, so she was maneuvering through dirt, grass, branches and all sorts without any protection on her feet. The pain was horrendous, but she endured it.

Moments later, her foot connected with something it shouldn't have and she tripped, landing head first onto the roots of a tree. She cried out in agony and anger. After some time, she operated her body so she could rest her back against a tree. The misery she was feeling was still present and wasn't going away.

Droplets of water fell onto the cold dirt below. She looked up and saw the canopy of the woods reaching far above. Through gaps in the leaves, she made out dark clouds towering above and the echoes of thunder roaring intensely.

Hiding her face with her hands, she cried.


	21. Desperation

The two Kalos League finalists were busy putting on coats provided by the professor, in addition to some better footwear for the weather. The clouds showed no sign of diminishing any time soon, but that didn't phase them in the slightest.

Ash had already informed his flying types of their task; thankfully, they didn't seem to mind the idea of having to search in the horrendous weather. They watched patiently by the front door, waiting for permission to begin their search.

Bonnie approached the two trainers with a look of concern. "How are we going to find Serena, anyway? We have no idea what direction to start looking in."

A quiet chuckle from behind answer her question before Ash and Alain could. Bonnie reluctantly turned around and saw Clemont with a proud smirk.

"There is no need to worry, everyone!" He yelled, drawing all eyes to him. "During our temporary stop here, I have created a machine that will aid us in finding Serena." He then frowned slightly, but his enthusiasm shortly returned. "I haven't thought of a name for it yet, but it will help us find Serena!"

He raised his right fist towards them, extending his arm out in the process. On his wrist was a type of bracelet that looked mechanical.

"Wow! Science is awesome!" Ash excitedly responded. "Will it actually help us find her, Clemont? That's so cool!"

Alain stared with an unconvinced expression. He hadn't forgotten the earlier incident at Lysandre Café where Clemont's invention resulted in an explosion. Bonnie had a look of irritation, but Emma shared Ash's enthusiasm.

"What does it do, Clemont?" She asked, stepping closer to the gym leader so she could get a better look at the contraption.

The inventor continued his quiet chuckle. With his other hand, he pressed a button the device, opening the top up slightly. This revealed what looked like a compass. "This, will lead us in the direction of Serena!"

"How does it detect her, Clemont?" Sycamore asked him the inevitable question, wondering how it worked.

Clemont didn't respond too well to the professor's response, acting like he was caught off guard. "Uh... well, it doesn't look for Serena specifically. It actually searches for Braixen. A little bit of her fur had fallen off in their room, so I used it to create this device to search for Braixen, knowing she's probably with Serena."

"Jeez, big brother." Bonnie moaned with a pout. She shrugged her shoulders. "Well, I guess it's better than nothing."

"Anyway," Clemont coughed after a moment of silence. "It's pointing to the south east."

"There's only woodlands in that direction." Sycamore mentioned. "Do you think there's a chance she's there?"

"Hopefully. It's our only lead." Ash admitted. "Is everyone ready?" He then asked, receiving nods from the group that were planning to head out.

The group consisted of Ash, Alain, Clemont, Bonnie and Emma. While he had tried to get his sister to stay put especially with the weather, Bonnie insisted that she wanted to go, leaving Clemont with little choice as he understood her desire to find Serena too. The group was surprised to hear that Grace wasn't going with them; the woman hadn't said much at all since her daughter ran away. Sycamore decided to stay put so he could keep an eye on the hurt mother. He also wished to find out any additional information with the help of his connections.

"Alright!" Ash shouted, stretching his arms up as high as he could. His chest was begging him to stay put, but he ignored the lingering pain. Ash headed out of the lab, prompting his three flying types to follow him. "Talonflame and Noivern, you two stay up in the sky and search from above. Hawlucha, you search for her in any forests you see; you're experienced with wooded areas so this should be right up your alley. If any of you three find her, find us and lead us to her. We shouldn't be too hard to find."

Talonflame and Noivern roared in approval and launched themselves into the sky. Hawlucha acknowledged his important role with a few karate chops before jumping and gliding off into the distance. Ash watched as they passed Sycamore's laboratory and they left his eyesight.

"Charizard, you help out too!" Alain sent out his partner Pokemon, who seemed to be aware of the situation as he answered with a nod before taking off.

The rainfall began to increase in intensity, reminding everyone to put up the hoods on their coats.

"Ash!" Sycamore called out to the trainer from inside the building. "Good luck!"

"Thank you!" Ash yelled back.

* * *

Braixen hopped from tree branch to tree branch, albeit at a slow pace. She wasn't experienced with this kind of movement, but decided the vantage point would make it easier to spot her trainer.

Pancham and Sylveon followed her from the ground, keeping an eye on their surroundings at all times.

The trio had followed Serena to these woodlands, but the forest had made it easy for them to lose track of her. The group had caught up to her several times during their chase, but their trainer was being surprisingly clever with her movement, taking corners and turns they weren't expecting. It disheartened all three, subtly slowing down their speed. Not one knew why Serena didn't want anyone to follow her.

A rustling in the trees caught their attention and made them stop. Braixen turned towards the source of the noise and saw a large, green Pokemon staring at her. They locked eyes for several seconds, not one saying a word. Braixen had a feeling she had seen this Pokemon before, but she had to be careful just in case. Pancham and Sylveon watched the confrontation quietly.

"Wait up!" A faint voice called out to the three, startling them as it broke the moderate silence they were experiencing. They turned around and saw a familiar, green-haired trainer running towards them.

Once the trainer caught up to the Pokemon, they stopped and took several deep breaths. Sceptile hopped off his branch and landed beside the young boy.

"I-Is everything alright?" the trainer the Pokemon recognized as Sawyer asked. "I saw you all with Serena running somewhere. Where is she? I thought she was uh... you know."

Braixen sighed with relief, jumping onto the cold grass below. "Brai, Braixen Brai!" She said to the trainer. Sawyer bit his lip and looked around, realizing there was no trainer around to explain to him what was going on in a language he could understand.

"Uh... I'm not sure what's going on, but Serena isn't here. So you're looking for her, right?" He theorized. Braixen smiled at the trainer and nodded. Sylveon and Braixen repeated her gesture. "Okay then. Please let me help you!"

"Syl!" Sylveon replied with joy.

"Okay, I have an idea!" He exclaimed a little louder, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a Poke Ball. "Slurpuff, come help us out!"

The fairy type emerged from its Poke Ball and looked at its trainer, waiting for an order.

"Slurpuff, we're looking for Serena. Can you see if you can retrieve her scent? It should be on her Pokemon here." He asked his Pokemon.

Slurpuff approached Braixen first and began to search for a unique scent on Braixen's body. The fire type was disturbed by its closeness, but endured the discontent she was feeling.

It shortly turned around and gazed into the dark woods ahead. Its nose twitched rapidly and it moved around, trying to search for the scent it had picked up. When it began to walk away in one direction, Sawyer realized it had found its target.

"Alright, let's go!"

* * *

"Jeez, what is with this rain?!" Bonnie complained, her whining slightly muffled by the sound of the downpour. "It hasn't rained this bad in Lumiose... since forever!"

Clemont pulled the hood of his coat up further, trying to cover a piece of loose hair. "You're not kidding. This is crazy."

"C'mon guys, we're close to the exit now!" Ash encouraged them. He and Alain were at the front of the pack, whereas Clemont and Bonnie were at the back, mostly due to the former's inability to run that well. Emma was in between, her speed slightly hindered by making sure Mimi was safe in her hands. The psychic type had insisted that it was with Emma at all times.

"Hey, Ash, up there." Alain alerted the trainer next to him, slowing down his movement. Ash slowed down and looked up, noticing his Talonflame circling around them in the sky.

"Hey, Talonflame!" Ash yelled, alerting the bird that he had noticed its presence. The fire and flying type soared down to the ground. It looked a little uncomfortable in the rain, but tried its best to not show it. "Did you find Serena?"

Talonflame hesitated briefly before shaking its head in shame. The brief stop gave Emma, Clemont and Bonnie time to catch up. They all began catching their breaths.

"Alright..." Ash replied, a little saddened by the response. He soon perked up again. "You must have found something then, right?"

This time, Talonflame nodded.

"Okay. We're about to leave Lumiose City. Once we've done that, lead the way." Ash gave the flying type an order.

"H-Hey! Wait just a second!" Clemont complained as Ash took off again. Alain and Emma soon followed after the trainer from Kanto, either ignoring or not hearing him. The gym leader took several deep breaths as quickly as he could.

Bonnie giggled quietly. "C'mon, big bro! You're going to have to speed up, or we'll leave you behind!" She told him, chasing after the group as fast she could.

Clemont sighed and gave up, jogging after his little sister. He hoped they would find Serena soon, as he was not built for these long running sessions.

* * *

"Professor Sycamore?"

Sycamore was a tiny bit startled by Grace suddenly speaking. The woman had understandably been quiet for some time. He looked up and locked eyes with her. "Yes, what's wrong?" He asked her calmly.

"I know I probably won't get an answer to this question, but... do you have any idea why Serena acted this way?" She questioned the Kalosian scientist.

The professor sighed. He stood up and approached the woman, sitting next to her. "Honestly, it's hard to tell." He admitted. "She has been in a coma for over two weeks. There's a possibility her behavior could be attributed to that."

"When she looked at me... she didn't just look shocked, she looked terrified." Grace added. "It was like she thought that I wasn't supposed to be there."

"Well, as far she knew, you were at home." He pointed out.

"That's true, but..."

"Don't worry about it, Grace." Sycamore said, standing up and giving her a smile. "Ash will find her. That boy has a level of determination I rarely see in trainers. He cares a lot about his friend and her safety. Once he's retrieved her, we will find out why she was so distressed."

* * *

Slurpuff's movements were slow, but Braixen had to rely on the peculiar little Pokemon. It was the only lead they had; otherwise, they would likely be searching in circles. It kept its nose to the ground, making strange quiet noises every now and then.

Sawyer was quiet, which wasn't like him at all, but Braixen figured it was because he wasn't able to understand them. In fact, the rest of the group were fairly quiet, including Pancham, who was usually quite noisy.

When Slurpuff suddenly stopped, the group, including its trainer, were confused. It then shot off, running as fast as it could.

"H-Hey Slurpuff! Wait up!" Sawyer yelled to his Pokemon, chasing after it. Sceptile was already two steps ahead, conversing with the Pokemon as it ran by its side. The grass type stopped and turned to face the rest of the group, giving them a gesture that told them to follow.

Serena's Pokemon turned to face each other and smiled cheerfully at each other. Slurpuff's sudden movement told them one thing; Serena was close.

* * *

Serena didn't know how long she was staring at the canopy of the forest. A raindrop falling on her forehead snapped her out of her state, making her shake. Her foot ached, but the pain seemed to have quietened down.

She tried to stand up, but found the agony returning as she stood. She twisted her foot around slightly and saw it was bleeding, but the cut didn't look too deep, so she decided not to worry about it as much.

Using the trunk of a nearby tree as support, she miraculously managed to stand up. She raised her feet upwards, leaving the heel of her foot as her own balance. She rested against the tree and began to think out loud.

"Was..." she whispered, her voice beginning to croak. She coughed several times before sighing. "Was... any of that even real?"

Her eyes widened and she suddenly slammed her hand against the tree. More tears began to leak out of her eyes and her breathing worsened.

"No... it was real. This... this isn't." She said to herself, but doubts shortly began to enter her mind. "...Right?"

"Serena!"

The voice was quiet, but it shocked the young performer nevertheless. She instinctively stood up quickly, almost falling down again in the process. Her head moved rapidly from left to right, trying to locate the owner of the voice.

"Serena!"

The voice was louder. Somebody was approaching her quickly, but she could hear what direction it was coming from this time.

She swallowed and maneuvered her way around the tree she was resting by. Once on the other side, she took off, trying her best to ignore the pain in her foot. Her balance was wonky, but she managed to escape without making much noise.

* * *

"Are you sure she's here?" Sawyer asked his Slurpuff. It looked at him curiously for a few seconds before nodding.

Braixen hopped through the woodlands, her head moving frantically as she searched for her trainer. "Brai! Braixen!" She urgently yelled.

"Pan Pancham!" Serena's second Pokemon followed Braixen's actions, trying to tell his trainer that he was here.

"Syl!" Sylveon followed their examples.

But they received no response.

"If she's not here, then she must have just left." Sawyer informed them. "Let's continue looking for her."

* * *

Serena kept running. Her legs begged her to slow down and rest, but she ignored their request.

But they eventually got their way as she soon fell, landing face down into the mud below. She pushed her body up with her hands, but she didn't have the energy to fully stand up. She sat awkwardly instead.

"Mama..." she whispered, sulking quietly to herself. "Why... why were you there? Why are you in my nightmares?"

Her nails clawed against the dirt in frustration.

"You're not meant to be here... not anymore." She continued, her voice now achy and raspy.

Serena looked at her hands, which were covered in mud. They moved closer to her head and she began scratching against her forehead. She slowly worked her way down, past her cheeks and down her neck.

"Please... wake up... I don't want to be here anymore!"


	22. Left Behind

**Hey guys, sorry for the delay in this chapter releasing. I had to deal with several exams in June and that took my attention away. I've used July so far to kick back and relax a little. That little vacation is over now though and updates should be returning to relative norm from here on out.**

* * *

Ash and the rest of the group had finally left Lumiose City. As previously ordered, Talonflame once again took the skies, urging the group to follow the flying type to see what it had found.

The trainers took off, keeping one eye on the flying type as it started to lead them towards a nearby forest.

"At least when we're in the forest, we'll be partially saved by this rain." Clemont mentioned, still at the back of the group. The only people who heard his comment were Bonnie and Emma, who quietly giggled to themselves as they listened to his complaining.

Alain was beginning to notice that Ash was speeding up suddenly. His running was still limpy thanks to his injuries and this fact was not unnoticed by his rival.

"Hey, Ash!" Alain called to the trainer who was significantly far ahead of him, but he received no acknowledgement. "You're running too fast!"

"Alain," He finally responded after hearing Alain's comment. "I already told you I need to find Serena as soon as possible!"

Alain sped up so he could speak to his rival clearer. He focused one eye on the trainer and the other on the road ahead. "That's all well and good Ash, but you're forgetting one thing."

"What's that?" He hastily asked between breaths.

"If you continue rushing ahead, your wound will reopen." He reminded him, his voice getting louder as he spoke. "Serena hasn't seen you since she woke up! Do you want your reunion to be of her seeing you in a bloody mess?!"

Alain was yelling by the time he finished his speech. However, it had the desired effect on the young trainer as Ash slowed down immediately, providing the professor's assistant with an opportunity to catch up to him.

"...Of course I don't want that." He said after some hesitation.

"Ash," Alain began with a quiet voice, trying his best to avoid shouting at the trainer again. "I'm sorry for yelling you, but I need you to tell me the truth. How bad is your pain right now?"

"...Unbearable." He reluctantly admitted. "It hurts so much to run, but... but... I don't care! I need to find Serena. I need to make sure she's safe!"

"Ash, you need to stop." Alain told him. He noticed his friend was about to speak about, assumingly to claim he was fine, but Alain continued before he could do so. "We will find Serena for you, okay? I promise you that. But if you continue, I don't know what will happen to you. It will definitely not be pretty though. Serena wouldn't want to see you like this."

Ash's movements began to slow down dramatically. Alain copied the trainer, slowing down too. Seconds later, they had both stopped. Ash lowered his cap to shield his eyes from the relentless weather around him, letting out a sigh in the process.

"Hey, what's going on?" Bonnie called, now almost caught up to them. The two male trainers turned towards her and watched as she stopped in front of them. The young girl placed her hands on her knees and took several deep breaths. "Guys, what's going on?" She repeated.

"I'm... going to stop." Ash gave in. Bonnie looked at him with confusion, prompting him to continue. "I really don't want to admit it, but I just can't go on anymore."

"It's not like you to give up, Ash!" Bonnie responded quickly, looking a little hurt at his comment.

"Wait for me!" A voice called out to them. The stop had given the slowest runner, Clemont, the opportunity to slowly but surely catch up to the group. The trio waited for the inventor to finally reach them.

"Ash...?" He started before taking a long, drawn out deep breath. "I heard you're going to stop here."

"Yeah..." The Kanto trainer took his time with the simple response. Alain watched his rival's eyes that were slowly forming tears. He had noticed Ash's subtle movement when Bonnie made her comment. Her comment hurt him, even though he knew that it wasn't her intention in the slightest.

Bonnie noticed the trainer's sadness and quickly grabbed his hands, diverting his attention to her. Ash saw Bonnie give him a beaming smile. "We're gonna find her! We're going to bring her back to you! You can count on us, alright?"

"It's a little too late to worry about colds but..." Clemont started, taking off his backpack and reaching into its interior. He pulled out a contraption of sorts that, on the press of a button, expanded upwards, forming the shape of an umbrella. The umbrella-like machine covered a wide area, shielding them all from the rain. "Stay here, Ash. We'll follow Talonflame, find Serena and bring her back. Just rest, alright?"

"...Okay. Thank you." He said quietly. The group stared at the trainer for some time, before nodding to each other and turning around. Bonnie was the last to do so, seemingly still saddened by the group's situation. They shortly began sprinting away. Ash watched as their appearance got smaller and smaller until they were just small dots in the horizon. His staring made his vision get a little blurry. Ash rubbed his eyes and groaned.

"Pika?" Pikachu spoke after noticing his trainer's discontent.

"I'm alright." He informed his starter quickly, wishing to avoid causing any more worry. The echoes of thunder still swarmed from the skies above, only amplifying the gratitude Ash and Pikachu had for Clemont for providing shelter. Ash took the time to observe his surroundings; Lumiose City was still in view, but he didn't know if he had the energy to head back anytime soon. He knelt down and stroked the grass they were standing on. It was still wet, but Ash nevertheless decided to sit down to relax his muscles a little. As he sat down, he sighed once more.

* * *

The group searching for Serena had made their way into the nearby forest, as this was the location Talonflame was leading them to. The flying type had since reunited with the group since they entered the wooded area. The canopy offered some shelter from the storm, but the walk through the woods was somewhat unpleasant due to the mud and puddles.

"Clemont?" Emma called out to the inventor, who was still at the back of the pack despite the group now walking. He looked at her, acknowledging her voice. "Can you check that invention of yours to see if we can pinpoint Serena's location? We haven't checked since we left." She requested and pointed out.

"Certainly!" He replied with haste, adjusting his glasses and reaching into his pocket, pulling out the compass-like device. "Uh..."

"Did you find something, Clemont?" Bonnie questioned him, noticing the perplexed look on his face.

"Yes, something has come up!" He responded with enthusiasm in his voice. His excitement caught the attention of Alain, who waited for him to continue. "Serena, or at the very least Braixen, is just ahead. We're incredibly close."

"Clemont? Bonnie? Is that you two?" A familiar voice called out to them from the woods. Moments later, the group noticed a young boy and a group of Pokemon heading towards their location. Emma was the only one to not recognize the trainer.

"Sawyer? What are you doing here?" Clemont asked.

"Hey! That's Braixen! And Pancham! And Sylveon!" Bonnie noticed, her excitement increasing as she spoke. "They must be what Talonflame found!"

"Does that mean...?" Alain briefly started, before shutting his mouth to prevent him from jumping to conclusions.

"Are you guys looking for Serena too?" Sawyer asked them.

The four looked at him curiously, allowing silence to reign momentarily. Alain was the one to break the calm. "We are looking for her. We thought she'd be with her Pokemon... but that doesn't appear to be the case." He told Sawyer.

"I'm pretty sure she was heading in this direction, so since we're both looking for her, we should group up." Sawyer informed the group before providing his recommendation.

"But we just came from that direction!" Bonnie pointed out. Clemont nodded his head several times in agreement. The direction Sawyer was heading in would lead him out of the woods, but it was also the path that led the group of four into the woods to begin with.

"She couldn't have passed us somehow, right?" Emma wondered out loud.

Clemont tapped his chin several times, entering a deep thinking posture. "Well, it's possible. But I think it's safe to say she's not in these woods anymore."

* * *

"Hey, Jessie." James asked his companion.

"What is it, James?" Jessie responded, somewhat agitated by his conversation starter.

"I think we're lost." He pointed out, looking up at the trees towering over them.

"I can't believe we got scared by a little rain and now we're in the middle of nowhere!" Meowth, sounding even more annoyed than Jessie, complained. The talking Pokemon grunted and gently swiped at a nearby tree, venting out some frustration. "All we had to do was head back to our balloon, but we got distracted by that twerpette! At least there's some shelter here."

"Excuse me!" Jessie instantly shouted at the normal type. "It was your idea to follow her! I for one, didn't want to bother, as my hair is completely drenched! I wanted to get it sorted out straight away!"

"Oh! I have an idea! This will get us out of this forest!" James suddenly blurted out. He reached into his pocket, pulling out a Poke Ball and throwing it into the air "Inkay, I choose you!"

Jessie and Meowth looked at their friend curiously. "Oh yeah?" Meowth said. "How's the little guy gonna help us?"

"Easy!" James responded, slamming his left fist onto the palm of his other hand. A smile of pride formed on his face, a smile shared by this partner Pokemon as he waited for his trainer's instructions. "Inkay can float, you see. We just have him keep floating up out of the forest, then he can tell us what direction to head in!"

"...That's surprisingly clever." Jessie applauded her partner's idea. "As soon as we get back to Lumiose though, our first priority will be sorting out my hair."

* * *

Greninja wasn't used to the blackout of sound when he awoke. All he could hear was the splashing of rain against the nearby window. It was a soothing sound and if the situation was different, he would have been tempted to go back to sleep.

The battle with the Legendary Pokemon Darkrai played back in his mind in only a matter of seconds.

Remembering its outcome forced the water type to his feet. Immediately, he clenched his chest, feeling a surprising surge of pain, but he adjusted to it after a few deep breaths.

He looked around the room and saw another bed nearby, except it was empty. He knew immediately that the bed belonged to his trainer. He didn't know what the medical equipment surrounding the bed did, but its presence unnerved him regardless. Greninja wondered where Ash was now.

Pokemon were naturally more resilient against attacks than humans. The pain he was feeling hurt him, but it was more of an irritation than anything. He could handle it with little issue. His trainer, on the other hand...

Greninja hoped that Ash not being in the room with him meant that he was on his feet and that he was okay, but he needed to confirm this with his own two eyes. He was in no doubt in more pain than him. The Ninja Pokemon felt responsible for his trainer's pain, as it was thanks to the Bond Phenomenon that they shared damage. Perhaps if he had taken less attacks during the battle with Darkrai, things would have been different.

He dismissed the 'what if' scenarios in his mind. He had to find his trainer.

* * *

Pikachu wasn't used to seeing his trainer so quiet. The electric type nudged his companion a few times and received no response, much to the Pokemon's surprise. "Pika... pika!" He said, trying to retrieve Ash's attention.

There was no response for at least half a minute, but Ash eventually did respond, but with a question. "Did I do the right thing, Pikachu?"

"Pika?" Pikachu responded with a confused tone, not understanding what his trainer was referring to.

"Staying here, I mean." Ash added, noticing his question was a little vague. "It doesn't feel right for me to just do nothing while everybody else is searching for her. But Alain is right, I can't go on like this. But at the same time..."

Pikachu watched as Ash's facial expression changed. No longer was it one of doubt, it was now one of realization.

"Never... Never give up until the end."

His voice was quiet and drained out mostly by the rain, but Pikachu definitely noticed his expression growing more positive as he spoke.

"Pika?" He called out to his trainer.

"Never give up until the end!" Ash repeated with a abundance of enthusiasm.. Ash suddenly shot to his feet once again and chuckled to himself. Pikachu recognized the words his trainer was saying and smiled. "How did I forget, Pikachu? I'm done waiting here. I'm going to be okay, and so is Serena once I find her. Let's go!"

"Pika!" The Mouse Pokemon couldn't question his trainer's determination. He hopped on his trainer's shoulder and cheered.

With one last deep breath, Ash stepped back out into the harsh environment.

What he didn't expect upon stepping out was seeing somebody in the distance running towards him. Somebody who looked incredibly familiar. As this person got closer and closer, Ash's eyes widened in shock.

She was still in the clothing given to her by the hospital. Her short hair was drenched, almost reaching her eyes. Her running was as unstable as his own. But there was no doubt in his mind, the person running towards him was Serena.


	23. Reunion in the Rain

The woods Alain and the others were in was proving unexpectedly annoying. Despite only being in the forest for a matter of time before they bumped into Sawyer, who had Serena's Pokemon with him, they were unable to find their way out of the woods.

"This is the worst thing that could happen right now." Bonnie complained, adding a sigh to the end of her sentence. Clemont would usually scold her thanks to his duty as a big brother, but everyone shared their frustration so he saw no need to do so.

"I have to agree." Alain admitted as he attempted to lead the group out of the forest. "I'm concerned, to be honest. If Serena ran away so unexpectedly, who is it say Mairin won't when she wakes up?"

Emma pondered to herself for a few seconds, before mischievously smirking. "That's your girlfriend, right?" She asked.

Bonnie snickered like a pig in response. Alain stopped his walking, but refused to turn towards them. Although they could not see his face, the trainer was about to retaliate with a reply. However, a sudden rustling in the nearby bushes diverted their attention. The group all stopped and watched closely as two familiar people alongside two familiar Pokemon emerged out.

"We're almost out." James reassured his group. Jessie trailed behind somewhat reluctantly, but her eyes perked up slightly when she saw a group of trainers looking at them. She still looked a little uninterested, but that changed when she realized who was staring at them.

"Some of the twerps! And some other twerps too!" She informed her group.

"Not these guys again." Sawyer complained, having had to deal with a fair share of Team Rocket encounters himself.

"Prepare for trouble!"

"And make it double!"

"To protect the world fro-"

"YOU GUYS AGAIN?! Why'd it have to be you guys?" Emma yelled suddenly, a little frightened and agitated by the appearance of the trio, but that slight fear was turning into anger after she remembered what they had done to her. The volume of he voice caught the Rocket trio completely off guard and it interrupted their motto. "You guys were horrible to Mimi!"

Her grip on the psychic type in her arms tightened a little, but not enough to disturb it from its slumber. She stuck out her tongue at them.

"Who do you think you are? How dare you interrupt our motto! How rude are you?!" Jessie complained, raising her voice in frustration.

"I think that's the twerp girl with that Espurr from a few weeks back, Jessie." James shared his thoughts with his partner.

"Hey! The twerpette's Pokemon are right here!" Meowth noticed Braixen, Sylveon and Pancham. The latter two prepared for battle by getting into their appropriate stances, while the former narrowed her eyes and glared annoyingly at the group.

"Then why was she alone?" James wondered, looking upwards as he placed a hand on his chin.

Clemont suddenly realized who they were talking about. "Wait, did you guys see Serena?!" He demanded an answer out of them, hoping to gain any lead they could to where their friend could be.

"It doesn't matter if they did." Alain answered the gym leader. "I don't think they would tell us even if they had seen her."

"H-hey, we're not that heartless!" James replied, sounding a little hurt at Alain's comment.

"I think this is a great opportunity to catch a lot of Pokemon!" Meowth said, a massive grin forming on his face. His comment urged the group to get ready for a battle. Alain and Clemont reached into their pockets, ready to send out a Pokemon to assist them.

"No, we're not going to try to catch their Pokemon." Jessie suddenly said, surprising not only her fellow team members but the rest of the group as well.

"What?! Why not?" Meowth replied, astonished at his partner's response, that is until he saw the look in her eyes.

Jessie glared at the small normal type with vicious eyes that made him sweat nervously.

"My hair, Meowth. Do you see the state I'm in at the moment?" Jessie asked the Scratch Cat Pokemon, pointing at her soaked long hair. "I told you already that our NUMBER ONE priority is sorting out my hair. Do you see how horrible it is right now? Do you actually want to waste more time when I could have been drying my hair right now if it wasn't for you leading us into these woods?"

Meowth knew it was helpless to even bother arguing back when the older woman was like this. It was his fault as well, after all.

"Well then, we're heading off!" James announced, rushing off towards the direction they were heading in, following after his Inkay who hadn't even noticed his trainer's sudden stop. Jessie shortly followed after him.

Meowth gave one nervous look to the rest of the group. "H-hey, wait up guys!"

The group searching for Serena all looked at each other with confusion.

"Wow, the weather actually helped us there." Bonnie commented.

Alain breathed in and sighed. "I'm certainly not complaining, but we've wasted enough time. Let's get out of here and continue the search."

* * *

Ash watched. He watched as Serena got closer to him as every second passed. The trainer from Kanto stood under the roof of Clemont's invention, safe from the storm above; the very same storm that was leaving his friend drenched in its fury. Ash's body shook from a mix of the cold temperature and some unexpected nerves kicking in. This was, after all, the first time he had properly seen Serena since her awakening. He wasn't completely sure what to do.

As she got closer, he noticed her face were glued to the ground. It was a miracle she hadn't bumped into anything. Still mesmerized by her sudden appearance, Ash and Pikachu didn't fully notice that she had ran past them until a few seconds afterwards

"W-Wait a second, Serena!" Ash called out quickly, his instincts rushing his body of the shelter into the horrific downpour.

Serena reacted to his voice, slowing down almost immediately. She now stood still, the rain pouring over her relentlessly. Her back faced the trainer. Ash waited, anticipating some additional form of response, which did come after some time. Her body shifted slowly, eventually turning to face the boy from Kanto.

When Ash looked into her eyes, his heart sank.

His closer proximity to the performer allowed him to observe how bruised she was. Her legs were covered in mud, with the occasional red color indicating a bruise. Her face was stained by what he knew were tears, despite the fact that the current weather would make anyone else consider otherwise.

The two friends stared at each other, their minds focused on each other rather than the elements surrounding them.

Pikachu watched his trainer's expression carefully. After some thought, he hopped off his trainer's shoulder onto the cold grass below. He gave his trainer one final look before running towards their refuge. The electric type would rarely ever leave his best friend's side, especially in a situation like the one they were currently facing, but he knew that his trainer needed to resolve everything on his own.

"Serena." Ash said calmly. He had hoped to give her an opportunity to respond in some way, but she made no visible sign of reacting to his voice. However, when Ash made a small step forward, Serena suddenly yelped and stepped back in retaliation.

What was once an unreadable expression before was now one of absolute fear. Ash's chest went numb when he realized that his friend was looking at him in complete terror. The look made him completely regret his earlier action.

Ash tried to speak, but was finding it hard to do so. His voice consistently broke instantly or came out in an inaudible form.

Then Serena took another step back.

"...W-Why?" He finally managed to ask, his voice croaky but comprehensible. "Why... did you step back, Serena?"

"Stay away from me."

Her four words came out fast. They played repeatedly in Ash's mind. What stung him the most wasn't the words themselves, but how she said them. Serena sounded afraid and threatened. He had never heard her speak like that before.

"Serena... it's me, Serena! It's Ash!" He responded, desperately trying to convince her that he was of no threat to her.

"You're not real. None of this is real!" She snapped back, the emphasis on her final sentence promoting her shout to a scream.

Ash took some time to catch his breath and subsequently return it to a steady pace. His heart rate was making it hard to do so. He was at least thankful Serena still stood in place and hadn't took off as part of his mind was expecting.

"I'm right here, Serena." He started after a minute of silence. "I am real. I'm here. Why do you... not think any of this is real?"

"This is a nightmare." She replied. Her defensive tone of voice was beginning to concern Ash incredibly. "This isn't my life. This isn't real. I want to get out of this nightmare. I want to... I want to... go back... my family... I..."

Tears formed in her eyes at an alarming rate, falling down onto her cheeks and eventually the earth below.

"Serena, you've been in a coma for almost three weeks." He informed her. "You've just woken up."

"You're lying." She muffled, the sorrow she was experiencing preventing her from speaking more clearly. "You're lying. You're lying. You're lying! You're LYING!"

Ash flinched as the volume of her speech increased rapidly. The complete despair in her voice was something he had never heard from anyone before in his life. Ash tried his best to ignore the tears forming in his own eyes.

Her next action caught him off guard completely. Serena's hands grabbed her face in a claw-like formation. She dug her nails into her cheeks and began to burrow them into her skin as deeply as she could. "Wake up. Wake up. Wake up. WAKE UP!"

Her last scream forced Ash to act. He sprinted towards her and grabbed her arms, forcefully pulling her hands away from her head. A look of horror formed on her exposed face, making Ash reconsider if he had done the right thing, but he silenced his doubts as fast as he could.

"You're awake, Serena!" He told her in a raised voice. She continued to stare at him, but he noticed her body was beginning to shake. "I'm your friend Ash! Do you not recognize me?! Why are you hurting yourself?! Please, I beg you, answer me!"

Tears began to fall out of his eyes almost endlessly. These manifestations of emotion were noticed by the girl standing beside him, softening her expression.

"Ash..." She said quietly, but their closeness allowed him to hear. He shivered upon hearing her say his name for the first time in weeks. "Let go of my arms... p-please..."

He raised his head slightly and stared into her eyes. "I will but... please, don't run away. Promise me you won't. I don't know what I'd do if I lost you again..." He responded to her request, struggling to keep his feelings in check.

"...I promise." The performer faintly answered. Ash loosened his grip on her arms slowly and as promised, Serena did not move a muscle in her legs.

Ash tried to stabilize his breathing one again, finding it slightly easier than before, but it was still difficult for him.

"...Thank you." She spoke almost soundlessly.

The two young trainers, now standing inches from away from each other, stared at each other in silence momentarily until Serena began to fidget with her hands. Ash perceived her twitching as her getting ready to speak.

"Part of me... wants to believe you, Ash." She admitted, some form of stubbornness preventing her from maintaining eye contact. Ash's mouth opened a little in an attempt to ask what she meant, but nothing came out. "Ash. I've never seen you like this before. If this... if this is real... why do you sound so... scared? This... isn't like the Ash I know..."

He listened to her question and pondered to himself for some time, trying to think of the best possible answer he could give her.

"Ash?" Serena called to him. To her, it looked like he hadn't reacted at all to her question.

"Over two weeks, Serena." He began, his voice breaking once again as he spoke. He cleared his throat immediately and took a long breath of fresh air. "Over two weeks of being told you were okay daily. Being told that nothing was wrong with you except that you just wouldn't wake up. I was terrified! I didn't know if you would wake up at all! Not knowing if someone would wake up doesn't make them 'okay'! I couldn't handle it!"

He lowered his head, hiding the raw emotion that was uncontrollably leaking out of his body.

"Everybody was so worried, Serena!" He continued, his voice anything but stable, but Ash no longer cared. "Clemont, Bonnie, Professor Sycamore, Alain... your mother! Everybody who cares about you! We were so scared! And after we were told Mairin was in a coma too... nobody was themselves anymore. And then... and then... we found out Team Flare was behind it all."

His continuation gave Serena much to think about, but she waited patiently for him to continue.

"They... they had a Darkrai. Xerosic said he was responsible for putting you and Mairin into comas. He did it to get back at us. I... I never felt so much guilt when he said that." Ash pressed on. "But I tried my best for everybody, and for you. We battled Team Flare and we defeated that Darkrai. The professor said you were going to wake up and even though I was so injured, I didn't care anymore! You were going to wake up and everything was going to be okay again. I felt the happiest I had been in weeks."

"...Then I woke up and ran away." Serena finished his story for him.

"...Yes, and here we are." He added. Ash lifted his head, exposing the pain that had flowed out of his eyes like a tide.

Serena clamped her hand on her mouth and sobbed from a combination of seeing his face and a sudden realization. "I... I remember! We... we were outside Lumiose... we met that girl... there was Team Rocket and then... I... I..."

Ash noticed her balance was becoming incredibly unstable suddenly. Her body suddenly tipped to one side. Ash reacted fast and grabbed her hip, saving her from a cold fall. She placed a hand on his shoulder, helping to maintain her body's stability.

"Serena, what's wrong?!" He demanded an answer from her, his voice echoing panic.

"...Please, I need to..." She started before rapidly taking many breaths of air. Her breathing continued to become more rugged and unstable as the seconds went by. "I need to... sit down..."

Her grip on him tightened. He nodded and the two slowly, but surely, began to make their way back to the shelter where Pikachu was waiting for them.

"Ash... you need... you need to hear my story..." She desperately said in between her attempts to stabilize her inhaling. "I've... I've been through so much... just like you."


	24. Bonds

Ash wasn't too sure what to do in his current situation. He had escorted Serena to the shelter provided by Clemont only moments ago. Pikachu was ecstatic to see Serena back to some resemblance of norm, but the electric type quickly caught on that the girl was still fragile and needed some time to herself.

Several minutes had passed since then. The two sat next to each other with nothing but the weather breaking the silence. Occasionally, Serena would fidget and shift position slightly, but she never seemed to lock eyes with her friend from Kanto. Ash could tell she was gathering her thoughts so decided to wait patiently.

He waited several minutes, listening closely to the loud clapping of thunder above.

"Hey, Ash." She started after the period of silence. Only a second later, without giving Ash the time to acknowledge her calling, she continued. "Have you ever had a dream that felt so real? A dream that once you woke up, you were convinced everything that happened in it really did happen?"

"Um... yeah." He answered, trying not to give too much thought to the subject as he didn't want to leave her waiting. "I think we've all had those kind of dreams before. They're not nice at all."

"Exactly..." Serena responded, but Ash noticed a hint of disappointment in her voice. "The thing is, it usually takes a few minutes at best for you to snap back to reality, right?"

Ash answered with a nod.

"I think... I've only just snapped to reality now." She admitted.

Silence reigned once again over the two. The storms above showed no signs of dispersing anytime soon, leaving the outside world drenched in its fury. Ash hesitantly bit his lip, knowing he was the one who was supposed to say something next, but nothing could escape his mouth.

Pikachu noticed his trainer's discontent and tugged on his leg. Ash noticed his partner trying to gain his attention and flashed him a smile before rubbing his head.

"Serena," Ash called, finally regaining some confidence after it was eroded away by unexpected nerves. "What were your dreams about?"

Ash's confidence shrunk and he immediately regretted the question he had asked when he heard Serena shriek.

"S-Sorry!" She apologized soon after. "It's just... everything came back to me so suddenly. When you said that, I mean."

"Serena... I'm the one who is sorry!" Ash replied, adjusting his position to face and lock eyes with her. His voice shook as he spoke. "I shouldn't have asked that. Nobody wants to talk about their nightmares. You've only just woken up and I didn't consider... didn't consider that... that..."

The performer's surprising chuckling interrupted his speech, making his mind lose hold of what he was trying to say. He was astonished.

"They weren't nightmares, Ash. I... I had the most wonderful dream!"

Ash sat with a perplexed expression. He couldn't believe what Serena had just said, but more importantly, he couldn't believe how happy and excited she was as she spoke. He didn't expect that kind of answer at all. It left him even more puzzled than before.

"Ash, I became Kalos Queen!" She suddenly said, grabbing his hands as a beaming smile formed on his face. Although he could not see it, a faint, but noticeable blush formed on his face. "I became Kalos Queen! I met so many amazing performers and people. I went on an adventure with all my Pokemon! It was so much fun! I grew older and went on even more adventures!"

While Ash listened closely as she spoke, he noticed that her magnificent smile was slowly, but surely, dwindling.

"Then I got married."

Ash noticed a strange lack of enthusiasm in her voice; enthusiasm that was present before but now oddly missing. But what made him shiver the most was the four words themselves and what they meant.

"I settled down. I had children. I watched them grow up and become magnificent people. My children were... my children were... my..."

The content of her dream was still startling him, especially with how fast she was speaking, but Ash was starting to care a lot more about how Serena was beginning to sound. Excitement was once in her voice, but now it was nothing but sadness, reinforced by the consistent pausing and breaking in her voice.

Ash's heart broke when he stared into her eyes and saw water forming within.

"My... my children. They... they..."

Serena tried desperately to speak, but found herself choking on her own voice. Her breathing became incredibly rugged and her hands tightly grabbed the freezing grass below, eventually tearing the blades out of the earth.

"My accomplishments... my friends... everybody I love... everybody..."

Ash had seen Serena's face stained in tears only moments before, as much as he hated to admit that. But this time, the absolute horror his friend was experiencing made that previous case and any other look like nothing in comparison.

It was then that he realized. Serena was completely breaking down.

"E-everybody... t-they're gone... e-everybody... e-every-"

The young Kalosian girl was cut off by Ash abruptly pulling her body towards his own. His arms wrapped around her back and he gently squeezed her. Words tried to escape the girl, now sheltered from the world by her childhood friend, but nothing came out but agonizing sobbing. But eventually, Serena gradually returned Ash's embrace by putting her own arms around him. She sunk into Ash's chest and over time, her crying eventually dispersed.

There was once again no sound.

Although their position was awkward and he felt a little uncomfortable, Ash didn't care in the slightest. Deep within his mind, his mind asked him endless questions to which there were not many answers. His heart began to beat ever so slightly faster as he held Serena closely in his arms. He gently squeezed her and maneuvered her body so he could look at her face. Her eyes were closed and her breathing was now gentle, which made Ash sigh in relief. From what he could tell, she had passed out due to exhaustion, but at least she now looked peaceful.

Then he began to worry. This was the first time she had fallen asleep since she had woken up. Ash wondered if she would wake up again. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. For now, he had to get her to safety. That was his priority. He would have time to worry later. He hoped he wouldn't have to worry later.

"Pika pi!"

The cries of his partner immediately redirected Ash's attention. The trainer quickly turned his head towards the direction where he knew the electric type was, only to barely see his Pokemon trapped in a capsule-like machine in the corner of his eye. A large mechanical arm suddenly latched onto Pikachu's imprisonment and began taking his best friend away.

Ash carefully and hastily moved Serena off his body and onto the ground below. He hated that he was forced to leave her alone in the middle of a field, but he took some comfort knowing she was at least safe from the fury above.

He stood up and ran into the torrential downpour that had been surrounding him for some time. He ran towards Pikachu who was still being carried away by the metal arm. Eventually, he came face to face with the ones responsible for his friend's kidnapping.

"I thought the twerp wouldn't notice us. You said that capsule was soundproof, Meowth! Well, whatever. Prepare for trouble!"

"And make it trouble!"

Team Rocket stood within their hot air balloon, conveniently giving them shelter from the weather. Pikachu was trapped in a type of capsule that the infamous trio often used to capture the Mouse Pokemon. He tried to escape by unleashing a Thunderbolt, but it had no effect.

"Team Rocket!" Ash shouted at the group, curling his hands into fists in frustration and anger. They had struck at the most inconvenient time Ash could think of. "Give Pikachu back!" He demanded.

Jessie stuck out her tongue. "No can do. First of all, please never interrupt our motto again! And don't blame poor old us for capturing your Pikachu either! That thing you were underneath stuck out like a sore thumb, even in this weather where it's a little harder to see. We just had to investigate!"

"And we got a Pikachu out of it!" James cheerfully added.

Ash instinctively reached into where he kept his Poke Balls, only to find nothing. He took a second to search around to confirm he hadn't made a mistake and missed them the first time around. Then he remembered. None of his Pokemon were with him.

Greninja was still recovering back in Lumiose City. His three flying types were still searching for Serena as far as he was aware. His thoughts drifted to what Talonflame had exactly found earlier, but he dismissed those thoughts as he had more important matters to deal with at the current time.

Jessie narrowed her eyes and glared at Ash, noticing an unusual expression on his face. "Hey!" She called out to him. "Aren't you going to send out your Pokemon and try to stop us?"

"Come to think of it, wasn't the twerp's Talonflame with the other twerps?" Meowth noticed, pondering out loud to his companions.

"Yeah. Maybe that means the twerp doesn't have any Pokemon on him." James theorized. "After all, he hasn't sent out any Pokemon to battle us yet."

A mischievous smile formed on Jessie's face. "I think you may be right." She responded, not letting her smile falter.

"That means..." Meowth started, a huge smile forming on his face.

"Wobbuffet!"

"Pikachu is ours!" Jessie and James finished as the Team Rocket balloon began to float upwards. Ash's eyes widened in realization. He quickly ran towards the balloon in desperation, hoping to grab onto the basket, but by the time he got to its initial location on the ground, it was too high up for him to reach.

"See ya, twerp!" The trio called out, chuckling to themselves after as the Rocket balloon got further and further away.

"Pika pi!" Pikachu cried out for help.

"Get back here!" Ash called once again, but his demands had no effect.

A blade of water zoomed past Ash at an incredible speed, a speed so fast that Ash didn't even notice it until it had struck its target.

The sound of Team Rocket's balloon being ripped apart, forcing the transport to the ground in a dramatic fashion, completely shocked not only Ash, but the villainous trio as well. The now destroyed balloon exposed Team Rocket to the weather and they weren't happy in the slightest, one certain member in particular.

"My hair!" Jessie immediately complained, feeling the rain soaking every inch of her hair. "Who did this to me?!"

"Yeah, what's the big deal? Who attacked us?" Meowth complained, searching his surroundings for the perpetrator.

Ash recalled where the blade came from and turned around. A massive grin formed on his face when he saw Pikachu's savior, standing on top of a nearby hill.

"Greninja!" Ash called out to the water type, who hopped down and approached his trainer, providing him with a nod of acknowledgement.

"So much for my theory..." James moaned, reaching into his pockets and pulling out a Poke Ball. "Inkay, I choose you!"

"Gourgeist, dear, I need your assistance!" Jessie mimicked her partner, setting free her own Pokemon.

Ash and Greninja stared into each other's eyes. Ash observed the bandages covering his Pokemon, bandages that he too had underneath his clothing.

"Greninja, I need your strength." Ash started. The water type watched his trainer carefully, waiting for him to continue. "I know that you haven't recovered fully. I haven't either. But do you think we can take them? Together?"

The Ninja Pokemon nodded without hesitation.

Ash chuckled to himself. "I don't know why I even asked. Of course we can take them! Alright, let's show them our power!"

A tornado of water swiftly surrounded Greninja. The duo felt power surging through them as Greninja transformed, all thanks to the Bond Phenomenon. The feeling felt refreshing as they hadn't performed the technique since the fight with Darkrai. However, lingering pain from within made it clear they had to finish this quickly.

"Alright!" Ash happily yelled, getting into the mood for battle. He pointed towards Team Rocket. "Greninja, use Water Shuriken on Inkay!"

The Revolving Pokemon didn't have much time to react, as the shuriken's speed was even faster than the attack that had damaged their balloon, all thanks to Ash and Greninja's increased strength. It was hit directly, sending it flying towards James who managed to narrowly catch it. To his despair, the Pokemon was already knocked out.

"Gourgeist, Seed Bomb!" Jessie commanded.

"Use Double Team to avoid it!" Ash ordered quickly in response to their enemy's move.

The ghost type hastily began to realize it was struggling to hit its opponent at all. Every copy it hit was a fake, despite Gourgeist dispersing a significant amount of those copies every second thanks to its rapid fire attack.

"Water Shuriken!"

Greninja's onslaught began once again, this time aiming for the Pumpkin Pokemon.

Jessie turned her head towards the other psychic type on their team. "Don't just stand there, Wobbuffet! Help out out too! Use Counter!"

"Wobba!" The large psychic type acknowledged its trainer's request with its signature pose. It jumped from the balloon's basket to just in front of Gourgeist. A mystical aura then surrounded it. As the Shuriken collided with Wobbuffet, it instantaneously bounced back at double the speed, catching both Ash and Greninja off guard.

"Pika pi!" Pikachu cried out in fear.

Ash clenched his chest, feeling a sudden and intense amount of pain. He tried desperately to breath, struggling to take in even a minimal amount of oxygen. The agony he was experiencing slowly forcing him to his knees.

The countered shuriken had sent the synchronized Pokemon soaring away. Moments later, Ash heard Greninja smashing against the cold, damp ground.

"What... what just happened?!" James shouted in shock, not expecting the trainer's reaction.

Ash fell to his knees, his hands becoming stained by the mud he was now using to reinforce his body. His mouth was locked open, his throat refusing to make any movement despite the trainer attempting to move it. Ash's vision started to become blurry. He tried to make out some words, even a cry for help, but nothing would escape his mouth.

A terrifyingly loud sound suddenly erupted over Team Rocket's location like a shock wave. The trio instinctively covered their ears to defend themselves form the sound, forcing Meowth, who was holding Pikachu, to drop the capsule containing the electric type.

"Now what's going on?!" Jessie complained, looking up towards the sky. An angered dragon could be seen diving down towards them.

"It's the twerp's Noivern!" Meowth notified the group. Noivern's right claw began to glow in a bright light. Moments later, it struck Pikachu's prison with a Dragon Claw, causing the capsule to crack. Within seconds, the capsule was torn open, allowing the electric type to escape.

Sparks began to intensely form on Pikachu's cheeks instantly. The Mouse Pokemon turned towards Team Rocket and glared menacingly at them, before unleashing a tremendously powerful Thunderbolt towards their location. As smoke covered the battlefield, the trio, alongside their Pokemon, were sent flying off into the distance.

"We're blasting off again!"

Pikachu sighed with relief. Only a second passed before a look of panic formed on his face.

"Pika, pika pi! Pikachu called out to Noivern, pointing towards their trainer's location.

Ash could hear Pikachu calling out to him, but his hearing was fuzzy and he could barely make out even the sound of the rain surrounding him. His wobbly knees finally gave away and he landed face first onto the ground, forcing the trainer into the realm of unconsciousness.


	25. What's Wrong With Me?

**I'm... really bad at updating this. Sorry. University has started for me and that's soaking up my time. I'm not going to say that I'm going to try to update more frequently, since I usually break my promises, but I'll try my best. This story will never be abandoned, by the way. It _will_ be finished.**

* * *

When Ash awoke, he immediately felt his muscles aching. A nearby source of light made it difficult for his eyes to adjust and fully open. As they finally began to gradually accustom to their new surroundings, Ash saw a blurry figure enter his view.

"Ash, can you hear me?"

The voice sounded desperate. Ash's mind refused to stay in one place, countless thoughts fighting one another which created an irritating headache. Even though an unending amount of questions echoed throughout his mind, one question kept consistently appearing. Where was Serena?

"Ash! Please respond!"

Worry leaked out of the voice, but Ash's head was preoccupied with the thought of somebody else so he didn't notice. His mind finally began to settle down, allowing Ash to recall what had happened to him.

Serena. She was with him. He remembered the rain. It was terrifyingly loud. It wouldn't stop. Serena. She was stained with tears, her breakdown as fierce as the storm that was above them.

As a bolt of lightning struck the earth in his memories, Ash's eyes widened and he shot up.

"Ash!"

He heard multiple voices this time. All of them he recognised. He noticed he could see more clearly now, but his vision wasn't perfect. But he knew at the very least that numerous people surrounded him. Luckily, their distinct colors made it easy for him to figure out who they were.

"Ash, I need you to talk to me." The professor told him with a calm tone. Ash recognised that the professor was the person calling out to him as he was in the process of awakening. "Say anything. Do anything. Anything that can let us know you hear us."

"I hear you."

His response was sharp and quick. Ash knew the situation was dire from the tone of the professor's voice, so wanted to reassure everyone that he was conscious as soon as possible.

"I... see." Sycamore responded, shocked by the fast reply. Although Ash could not clearly see it, a large smile had formed on the adult's face. "We're glad. How about your vision? Can you see us?"

"Yes." He replied with the same haste as before. "Professor, you're right in front of me. Clemont is to your left, and Bonnie is to your right." Ash continued, trying his best not to inflict any more worry on his friends.

"That's a relief." He heard the professor say, shortly followed by a sigh.

"How come?" His statement worried the trainer, prompting him to ask what he meant.

"Well... let's say you weren't looking too great when we found you, Ash. You were even more hurt than after the fight with Team Flare." Sycamore summarised. Ash decided not to pry for more details as everyone else in the room was looking uncomfortable, especially one little girl.

Bonnie suddenly latched onto his arm, tears falling out of her eyes. "Ash! I-I w-was so s-scared! Y-You were s-so h-hurt...!"

Ash instinctively placed his hand on her head and gently rubbed her crown. "I'm sorry I made you worry, Bonnie." He apologised, noticing her sadness slowly fade as he spoke. "You've been really brave these past few weeks. Everyone is proud of you for that."

Through the tears, the young girl pouted at the trainer, some stubbornness showing due to the sudden compliment. "S-shut up..." She whispered, refusing to make eye contact.

Ash quietly giggled at her comment. Clemont moved over to their location and grabbed his sister's hand. "C'mon Bonnie, let's go get something to eat. I'll buy you anything you want, okay?"

The blonde haired girl looked like she wanted to protest, but the temptation of food prevailed and she headed off with her brother, leaving the room with only two people left in it.

Professor Sycamore waited for the door to close before he turned his head to face the young trainer. "Are you sure you're alright, Ash?" He asked.

"I ache a bit, but I'll be alright." He answered, hopping off the bed carefully. "Professor, where is Serena? Is she safe? Greninja too!"

"She's... safe and sound. Greninja has recovered quickly too and is resting." The professor reassured. "Just promise me you'll take it easy, okay? If you overexert yourself anymore, I don't know what will happen, but it won't be pretty, okay?"

"Understood. I promise." Ash acknowledged with a smile, beginning the process of maneuvering his way out of the bed. "I'm going to go find her, if that's okay?"

The professor sighed and sat down on a nearby chair, giving the young trainer a smile. "Sure, but don't leave the building, alright?" He chuckled. As much as he wanted to not let the trainer leave, he knew Ash well enough that remaining idle would do him more harm than good.

* * *

Ash moved quickly, hoping to locate his friend as soon as possible. His legs were begging him not to run after how much work they had been put through recently, so he acknowledged their request but kept up a fast pace regardless.

As he moved around the nearby corner, he suddenly tumbled backwards as his head collided with somebody else's.

"Ow!" Two people complained simultaneously, trying their best not to fall over as they clenched their foreheads due to the sudden pain. Ash placed his right hand on the floor to balance his body, but groaned as it twisted awkwardly.

The person the trainer crashed into gasped. "A-Ash? Are you okay?"

The boy from Kanto rubbed his eyes with his spare hand and gazed at the person in front of him, noticing immediately that they were dressed in similar clothing, assumingly provided to them by Sycamore.

"Serena!" He shouted excitedly as soon as he realized who he had bumped into. A massive grin formed on his face and he couldn't help but chuckle to himself. "Yeah, I'm fine. I didn't hurt you at all, did I?"

"No no, of course not! I'm happy to see you're on your feet again. Everybody was so worried."

"I'm just so... relieved, Serena." Ash admitted as he moved his body so he could rest his back up against the nearby wall. "These past few weeks have left me filled with nothing but worry. It feels nice to finally take a sigh of relief, y'know?"

"I'm sorry I made you worry all this time." She apologised after imagining what her friend had to go through during her absence.

"Don't worry about it." He responded with a small chuckle that helped to reinforce that he wasn't bothered in the slightest. "What matters now is that you're back with us. Everything is going to be okay."

Serena couldn't help but smile joyfully at his comment. "I'm glad to be back."

The two stared into each other's eyes for what felt like an eternity. Neither spoke in person as they enjoyed a moment of peace together. It was Ash that broke the silence after around a minute. "Uh... what do you plan on doing next, Serena?" He asked.

"If I remember correctly, somebody invited me to come back to Kanto with them." She replied, adding a wink to the end of her answer.

"Oh, that's right!" He said, slamming his left fist onto his right hand, emulating a pose often done when realizing something. A look of discomfort suddenly formed on his face, a look that didn't go unnoticed by Serena. He grunted through his teeth and quickly moved his right hand out of view.

"Ash?" She called out. After a few seconds of no response, she pouted. "Show me your hand, Ash."

"I'm okay!" He attempted to reassure her.

"Ash Ketchum, please show me your hand."

"Fine, fine..." He gave in to her stern voice, raising his left hand so she could see it clearly.

Serena bit her lip and glared at him. Ash purposely tried to avoid making eye contact with his friend, but couldn't help but take a glance. He was met by a look of disapproval.

He sighed and moved his left hand out of view, raising his right hand after a brief moment of stubbornness.

"Ash, it's bruised." She observed, gently surrounding the hand with her two own before calmly

"It's nothing, honestly." He laughed to himself. "I've been through far worse."

Serena ignored his comment and observed the damage done to his hand. "Did... did this happen when you fell just now?"

"...Yeah... but don't worry about it." Ash replied, knowing it was probably for the better not to lie, but he didn't want her to worry about his minor injury.

"I can't help but worry about it. It was my fault." The Kalosian girl responded in a predictable way. She sighed and got onto her knees, using her hands to help her stand on two feet. She reached out to Ash with a hand.

The young boy stared at his female companion for a few seconds as he processed what she was trying to do. He then smiled and reached out with his non-damaged hand. Although he didn't notice it, his heart was beating ever so faster as their hands connected.

"Alright, three, two and one!"

At the end of the countdown, Serena pulled with all of her might, bringing Ash to his feet within a second. The boy almost tripped on the way up, almost colliding with her once more, but he managed to maintain his balance.

"Thank you, Serena." Ash said with a smile, scratching under his nose. It was an action the performer had seen her friend do so many times and it brought a smile to her own face. The motion irritated Ash's hand, but he didn't mind too much.

Once again, the two were brought within the realm of silence, their eyes shimmering as their minds wandered.

"Um..." Ash muttered, after noticing the conversation had reached a halt.

"H-hey, Ash..."

Her voice was surprisingly timid and quiet, catching the trainer's attention immediately. Her free hand clenched into a ball and rested close to her heart.

"Serena?" He asked with the same volume of voice, noticing some hesitation on her side.

"Oh, um, I j-just wanted to say that I was thankful for all you've done for me when I've been... you know." She blurted out quickly. Ash knew that wasn't what she wanted to say, but felt it was better not to pry.

"It's okay, Serena. I'm just glad you're back." He repeated, adding a grin to the end of his response.

Serena fidgeted with her spare hand, trying her best to maintain eye contact. As soon as she noticed Ash was looking a little distracted thanks to her lack of reply, she began to slightly panic. "I... I mean it, honestly! Especially back then... in the rain, it felt like... like everything that had happened in my dreams all came back to me at once. I don't know what I would have done if you weren't there to comfort me. Thank you... so much."

Ash released the hand that was connected with her own, causing worry to immediately manifest itself within her mind. She had almost forgotten that their hands were still linked, but as soon as it was gone, she missed its warmth. The Kalosian girl worried that she might have said the wrong thing.

"I... I don't know how to feel right now, Serena."

His statement was odd, but she couldn't help adding some form of negative connotation to what he was saying, even though she didn't understand what he meant. She dismissed any negative thoughts and continued to listen.

"What you just said to me. I'm... really, really thankful!" He added. "For the past few weeks, its felt like there's been this massive storm inside me that won't go away. But now... I think you just got rid of it. I feel pretty strange now because of that, if that makes sense. Don't get me wrong, it's not a bad feeling! It's just... strange."

He scratched his cheek a few times and quietly laughed to himself. He looked up and noticing his companion mischievously giggling.

"What's so funny?" He asked out of curiosity.

She let her laughter fade away and replaced her smirk with a smile. "Sorry. I just thought what you said was really cute, that's all."

"Cute?!"

His response was one of shock and confusion, which Serena entirely expected.

"Don't worry. It's nothing." She reassured him with her trademark smile. "Say, why don't we check up on our Pokemon? They're probably worried sick."

Ash nodded several times. "Good idea. I need to let everyone know I'm awake."

The two began walking towards the greenhouse-like area where the professor kept all the Pokemon. As she adjusted her hair out of habit, she noticed her friend seemed to be lost in thought, which was unusual for him. "Are you okay?" She prompted him.

"Me? Of course!" He began in an unconvincing tone before sighing. "It... it was really difficult for me to say that, to be honest." He admitted. "Usually I can just say anything. I don't know why that was hard."

"Are you talking about when you said you had that storm inside you?" She attempted to clarify.

"Yeah."

All sorts of interesting thoughts began to conjure within the performer's mind. A bright, crimson blush formed on her face alongside a giggly smile. Moments later, they dispersed and were replaced with a pose of deep thought, only for the blush and smile to return seconds later.

"You okay, Serena?" Ash suddenly asked, making his friend quietly gasp out of shock

"O-oh, sorry!" She apologised. "I was just thinking about... seeing our Pokemon again, that's all."

"Serena!" A voice from behind called out to the young girl. Ash and Serena stopped quickly after noticing the voice. The former noticed the anger in the person's voice, while the latter merely sighed.

"Oh... mama." Serena murmured, biting her lip. Ash focused on his companion, noticing she was avoiding making eye contact with her mother.

Grace approached the duo and crossed her arms as she stood in front of them. She focused her attention on her daughter with a glare. "I told you not to leave you room, young lady."

"I... wanted to see Ash." Serena replied after a moment of hesitation.

"That's fine, but if you wanted to do that, you could have let me know. I would have come with you."

"Don't worry, uh, Serena's mom!" Ash butted in, noticing a bit of unneeded tension between the two. "I can look after her for you."

Grace turned her attention towards the young boy, her expression turning neutral. "I know you are dependable, Ash, but you are no in position to say that you can defend her. You've been on death's door twice in the past week alone." She said, pointing at the boy's chest.

The Kalosian girl reacted quickly to her mother's last comment and looked at Ash with confusion. "What does she mean by that, Ash?" She asked quietly, hoping it was some kind of comment that need a lot more context to understand and that it didn't mean what she thought it meant. He didn't respond.

Serena's mother sighed. "The boy's been to hell and back all for your sake." She answered in his place. "I'm really grateful for all he's done, but he needs his rest. And so do you, Serena. As your mother, I am going to make a proposition."

"Proposition?" She inquired.

"Once the professor lets me know you're okay to leave, you will come home with me to Vaniville Town. You'll stay with me for a year so you can fully recover." Grace explained with a more authoritative tone.

"A year? Recover? I'm fine, mother!" Serena snapped back as soon as the last word left her mother's mouth.

"Don't raise your voice at me, young lady!" Grace raised her voice back, her daughter deciding it was best not to point her out on her hypocrisy. "It hurts me to do this, it really does. Ideally, you should be out there as soon as possible and performing so you can achieve your dream. However, everybody will be worried if you do that."

"Why would everyone be worried? I told you I'm feeling fine!" The daughter repeated, insisting that she was stable. "Besides, I promised Ash I would go to Kanto with him."

Grace turned to Ash and stared at him. "I'm sorry Ash, but Serena's visit will have to be put on hold for a while. Is that okay?"

"No... it's not."

Serena shivered at his response, specifically at the angered tone of voice he was using.

"Serena's fine. There's no reason to lock her up in her hometown for an entire year. That's completely unfair!" He shouted, trying his best not to sound too angered. Ash didn't want to come across as rude, especially to somebody else's mother, but the thought of what Grace had just said was too much for him to bear without adding his own input. "Serena is fine."

Serena watched Ash catch his breath as her mother simply sighed.

"I promised the professor I wouldn't say this until he gave permission, but..."

Ash bit his lip as Grace spoke, anticipating with rugged breaths what the end of that sentence could be. When a tear fell out of Grace's eye, Ash felt that storm manifesting all over again.

"Mother..." Serena muttered, her voice leaking her inner panicking. "What's... what's wrong with me?"


	26. Lingering Effect

**Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you've had a good one!**

 **One think I'd like to do with this story as we head into the new year is to interact with you guys a little more. I'll respond to reviews more often from now on at the end of chapters. If you have any theories or questions you'd like to ask, feel free to share them. I won't spoil anything, of course, but I would be pretty interested to hear what things you guys have to say.**

 **Anyway, enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

Ash and Serena sat next to each other in a closed off room of the laboratory. Only themselves, the professor and Serena's mother were present. Grace had decided it would be better to let the professor explain rather than herself, since he knew a lot more about her daughter's condition that she did. Serena insisted that Ash come with them to meet the professor, something Grace hesitated on making a decision on but allowed after recalling how much the trainer had done for her daughter.

"Let's cut right to the chase." Sycamore began, breaking the minute of silence that reigned ever since everyone had entered the room. "Serena, what do you know about the Pokemon known as Darkrai?"

Serena seemed a little confused at the question and how to answer it, but after seeing the stern expression on the professor's face, she gave her response. "It's a very rare Pokemon and has the ability to trap people in nightmares and... it was what put me into a coma for almost three weeks."

"Precisely." Sycamore replied with a few nods. "Darkrai's ability to trap both Pokemon and humans alike in a usually inescapable nightmare is a very powerful move. However, the duration of the move is usually no longer than a few hours. In fact, in battle, it can wear off pretty quickly on Pokemon. The longest recorded incident we have in our records is 5 hours and 14 minutes."

"Only that long? But Serena..." Ash started, starting to piece together what Sycamore was saying.

"Serena was stuck in a nightmare for over two weeks. That is an unheard of phenomenon." Sycamore finished the thoughts Ash had swirling in his mind. "Not to mention, Mairin hasn't woken up from hers yet."

Serena bit her lip. Even though part of her mind was telling her it didn't matter as she was awake now and that Mairin was bound to awaken from hers soon, her heart knew that the duration had caused something to go wrong.

"We don't know how it lasted this long. We don't know how it even put you into a coma instead of a deep sleep. We heavily suspect that Team Flare had some involvement in enhancing the properties of the move, but that doesn't matter right now. However, there is one thing that we do know. There has been a... side effect, for lack of a better term, on your mind."

"Side effect? But she's been fine since she woke up!" Ash blurted out. Grace's mother scanned the boy's expression, noticing how anxious he was looking, even more so than her own daughter. What he had said was not true, but she did not suspect that he was purposely lying. She concluded that he was in denial about the situation that Serena was in. Grace wondered how hurt her daughter's friend was deep inside, especially with having to deal with all the events happening in the past few weeks. It was no wonder he felt the way he did.

Sycamore turned his face and locked his eyes with Ash's own. "Ash, you know that's not true. In fact, you saw it firsthand yourself when Serena woke up."

"You mean... when she ran away."

Ash mentally smacked himself for not realising it sooner. The way she was acting when she awoke lingered in his mind. The way she spoke to him, as if he was a stranger that was completely terrified of him, still haunted his heart.

"Serena," Sycamore caught the attention of the performer, who too was lost in deep thought. "You may go to sleep tonight and wake up just fine. You may even go to sleep tomorrow and wake up once more with no problems. However, there will be days where you will wake up, still thinking you are in a dream or nightmare. Your mind will not be able to fully comprehend what is going on and it may take hours before your twisted perception of reality fixes itself. That is the lingering effect that the coma you've been in has had on your mind."

At first, Serena didn't think much about what the professor was saying. Truthfully, it didn't seem to be that big of a deal. But then she began imaging scenarios.

What if she woke up from a nightmare and thought she was still stuck in it? She couldn't bare to think what kind of effect it would have on her own friends, especially if she refused to believe they were real. The thought made her shiver.

But then she realised that ordinary dreams were worse.

She knew she wasn't having a nightmare before she woke up. She was dreaming of a world where she accomplished all her goals; where all the things she ever desired in life were already there.

Even now, she still remembered the names of her children.

But they never existed.

The thought of losing them, even if there weren't real in the end, still tugged at her heart.

But she remembered clearly what happened when she woke up. She saw her mother, who she thought had passed away peacefully at an old age. Then she saw Ash.

What was actually reality felt like the most horrific nightmare to her.

She had never experienced fear like that in her entire life.

"Serena, I am truly sorry." Sycamore said with honest regret leaking out of his voice.

"It's okay." She responded, but her voice betrayed her by showing the discomfort she was feeling. "H-How long will I have to endure this?"

"That is probably the only good news we have. We highly doubt it will last longer than a year."

Grace nodded along with what the professor was saying. She faced her daughter and took a deep breath. "This is why I want you to stay with me for a year. I can look after you while you recover from all this."

Serena understood her mother's reasoning much clearer now, but her gut feeling still begged her not to agree to what her mother was suggesting.

She had experienced so much of the Kalos region and what it had to offer by leaving the house. She wanted to continue travelling the world. She wanted to continue travelling with the boy who inspired her to leave her home in the first place.

"I... don't know if I even have a choice in the matter but... can I have some time to think about things first? There... is a lot to process." Serena requested.

"Of course." Grace answered, solidifying what Serena suspected. Her mother was going to force her to stay at home whether she liked it or not. She knew that she had no choice when her mother deliberately ignored her first comment.

Serena stood up and sighed, all three other pairs in the room on her. "Thank you for everything, Professor Sycamore." She said with a small bow afterwards. She turned around and quietly left the room.

The three remaining people in the room sat in silence for sometime, all thinking about many different things. Grace eventually left just as quietly as her daughter, leaving Ash and the professor alone.

Seconds after the door shut, Sycamore opened his mouth to speak, but found himself stopping before he could start as he heard quiet sobbing coming from the trainer.

"It's not fair, professor." Ash confessed. "Serena doesn't deserve this. She doesn't deserve what is happening to her. She doesn't deserve what her mother is going to force her to do."

"I know that Ash, but I can't go against her mother's wishes." The professor admitted, even knowing that his comment wasn't what the trainer wanted to hear. Regardless, he did not want to lie. "I have to trust that what her mother wants will keep her safe and help her in the long term."

Ash suddenly stood up, his fists clenched and his drenched eyes now visible. "Don't you get it?!" He shouted. "Serena's not going to be happy at home! She is going to be suffering from not only this condition she has, but from also not being able to see her friends or do the things she loves! If I were in her shoes, I... I don't know what I'd do..."

"I..." The adult started, only to find he couldn't say anything more.

Ash stood up and approached the exit to the room swiftly. "I'm... sorry for yelling." He said as he closed the door.

* * *

"This is ridiculous!" Alain shouted in frustration, resisting the urge to slam his fist against the nearby wall. He wasn't usually the one for violent outbursts, but he was in a very bad mood.

Sophie, one of the professor's assistants, attempted to calm him down. "Listen, she's going to be perfectly okay, right? We're doing all we can to calm her!"

"Let me see her!" The Kalos trainer demanded, the assistant's words having no effect. "I need to see her!"

Clemont and Bonnie, who were passing by after getting a bite to eat, were drawn in by the nearby commotion. They stayed out of view, listening closely to what was happening. They felt a little guilty eavesdropping, but they had never heard Alain sound so furious before.

"Please, Alain!" Cosette, the other assistant, entered the conversation. "Just stay put! We'll call you when we are ready, okay?"

"Ready? How many times do I need to tell you?!" He responded with no hint of his anger dispersing. "I saw her... when she woke up. She wasn't like Serena. She didn't run away, but I am certain she had that very same fear in her eyes. She was too terrified she couldn't even move! Then you dragged me out!"

Clemont and Bonnie had learned that Mairin had arrived in the early morning. She too had suffered the same type of coma Serena had to endure. But it was no secret now that the young trainer had woken up.

"We're stabilising her! We couldn't have any distractions!"

"Distractions? You idiots! How do you think she feels right now?!" Alain responded almost instantly. "She is surrounded by doctors who she has never seen before in her life. She has no idea what she is going on, and she is terrified! Probably even more so than when she woke up. Stabilising her?! What a joke! What you're doing right now... is going to scar her for life!"

Sophie and Cosette stood in complete astonishment at what they were hearing. They looked at each other, both biting their lips. "O-Okay." Sophie whispered. "Y-You're right. You can see her. We'll take you there!"

Alain was already sprinting ahead before Sophie could finish her sentence, already with the full knowledge of where Mairin was being held. The two assistants took a few seconds to notice before panicking and immediately running after him.

Clemont watched in awe at what he had witnessed, only for his thoughts to be interrupted by the quiet sobbing of his younger sister.

"C-Clemont..." Bonnie tried desperately to stop her tears from advancing past her cheeks. "Why... why can't things go back to the way they were before? Everybody is not themselves! I hate this, Clemont..."

The gym leader embraced his sister in a tight hug. It was a form of comfort that both of them needed, as they were both feeling the exact same way.

* * *

Ash didn't know where he was heading now. He just walked. Part of him hoped he would run into Serena, but he was not actively searching for her. He knew she needed a lot of time to think about the information that was shared with her.

The boy from Pallet couldn't recall a time in the past where he ever felt the kind of distress he was feeling currently. He hated feeling like this. Too much was on his mind.

The lingering pain in his chest still bothered him, but it was the least of his problems now. It was something he could quietly endure without burdening anybody else.

Ash ended up back in his room. He sat on his bed with his head resting on his hands, staring at nothing in particular. After some time, he got up and got dressed into his usual attire, ignoring any bursts of pain due to stretching too much.

Despite finding some motivation to get changed, that same motivation was long gone by now. Ash was once again lost in thought.

His thoughts always went to the worst-case scenarios. What if Serena's mother did as she said she would and took Serena away from the group? Was there truly nothing he could do about it?

Even when he tried to think about other things, Serena refused to leave his mind.

A knock on the door was what it took to snap him out of his thoughts. He waited it to knock a second time just in case he was imagining things. Once he heard it, he sighed.

"Come in." He said with little emotion.

Almost immediately, Clemont and Bonnie entered the room. Ash was a little shocked to see their bright faces and the remnants of tears in their eyes.

"Are you two okay?" He questioned worryingly.

"We're fine." Clemont reassured his friend. "Everything is just kinda getting to us both, I think."

The duo ended up joining Ash as they sat on the bed. Eventually, Ash felt the need to share with them what he had found out about Serena. He knew the news would hurt them, but they had to know.

"Man... we're just not lucky lately, are we?" Clemont let out a small chuckle, trying to bring some humor to the situation. Ash managed to flash a brief smile, appreciating the attempt at trying to cheer everyone up, but he couldn't force it to stay.

Bonnie struggled to let her words out, but with time, her thoughts were shared. "I knew... someday we'd have to say goodbye to everyone but... I never wanted it to be like this."

Bonnie's words hurt. He knew Clemont was suffering too, but he knew everything Bonnie was saying was coming directly from the heart.

* * *

"Alain. ALAIN!" Mairin screamed suddenly.

Alain panicked at Mairin's sudden outburst. It was terrifying to hear her screams, especially as she was relatively quiet when he entered the room. The doctors had done a good job in stabilising her, which made him feel terrible for shouting at the professor's assistants earlier.

The assistants allowed him to be with her by himself, believing that it would do the girl some good. He had been in the room for no less than five minutes, watching her body rock back and forth slowly as she murmured incomprehensible things while sitting on the bed. He had tried to communicate with her, but she ignored him every time. Her sudden outburst understandably shocked him.

"M-Mairin! What's wrong?! Please tell me!" He shot up, his voice incredibly shaky.

"I hear them... I can't understand them! They won't stop trying to talk to me. What is it saying...?" She sobbed uncontrollably, her body fidgeting even more relentlessly. She tightly grabbed onto Alain's arm.

"Hear who, Mairin?! Nobody is here. It's just us two!"

"I don't know... but please, make them stop... please..."


	27. Separate Talks

Ash found himself wandering throughout the professor's laboratory, with no clear goal in mind. He just wanted time to think without being in the presence of others, though he secretly wished he would end up finding Serena. She had been missing for a few hours now ever since she was told the news about her condition, but nobody went out of their way to look for her as she had understandably asked for time to think about things.

He had stopped by the greenhouse-like area of the lab where all the Pokemon were. All of Ash's Pokemon were happy to see him but could tell he was not himself. Ash knew that they knew, but put on a brave face for them even so. He promised he'd see them soon, but he requested time alone, even from Pikachu.

The disappointment on Pikachu's face still hurt him and he quickly regretted his decision. He knew his best friend would do everything to comfort him, but he didn't know if he was in the mood to be in the presence of others currently. Ash felt drained, both physically and emotionally, so it was no surprise that he ended up sitting down by a wall in a random location of the lab. A few minutes passed without any sound until he heard footsteps.

"Ash?" A voice called out to him. He didn't respond straight away, but eventually found the energy to look up at the person. He still wanted to be left alone, but he didn't want to be rude either.

"Sawyer? Is that you?" He replied. He forced a smile towards the trainer who idolised him and chuckled quietly. "I almost forgot you were around, sorry."

"I've been keeping out of the way of things." The green haired trainer admitted. "I didn't want to get too involved in this whole situation in case I ended up making things worse, but I was too worried about everyone. How... are things?"

"They've been better." was the only thing Ash could say as a response. "But I'll be okay."

Sawyer wasn't convinced, but was reluctant to say anything, mostly as he was unsure what to say.

There was a period of silence that reigned over the area for a while. Sawyer was surprised to hear Ash break that silence.

"I heard you joined everyone in searching for Serena." Ash recalled some information that Clemont had told him. "Thanks for doing that, by the way. It means a lot."

"Oh! Of course! That's no problem at all. I'm glad I could help." Sawyer responded with a smile, appreciating the compliment. "Um... I should probably tell you that I'll be leaving Lumiose City tomorrow morning."

Ash was a little surprised to hear that news, but it made sense after a little bit of thinking. Trainers don't just stick around in a single city forever, after all. "Where are you heading off to?" He asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.

"I'll be leaving with Steven Stone!" Sawyer responded excitedly. "He's taking me on as his assistant. I'm... really excited! We'll be travelling to the ruins of Team Flare's old headquarters. Hopefully we'll be able to learn about about the Megalith there. I can't wait to work with him."

Ash was aware how much the Hoenn champion was idolised by his rival and he could feel the excitement leaking out of Sawyer's voice. He even felt a little bit of that excitement leak into him, which was a warm feeling. "I'm glad to hear that, Sawyer! You'll do great, I'm sure of it."

Sawyer nodded enthusiastically before reaching into his pocket, pulling out a card-like object and passing it to the trainer sitting down beside him. "Here." He offered the item. "This card has Steven's contact details. He asked me to give it to you."

Ash reached out and accepted the card, though he had a look of confusion planted on his face. "For me? How come?"

"Steven told me that he'd like to keep in contact with you. He's heard about Serena's condition and the second fight with Team Flare from Professor Sycamore. Since we're investigating the megalith, he'll want to let you know about any discoveries we made since they could have an impact on Serena." Sawyer informed his friend. A large grin then appeared on his face. "It also means we can keep in contact too!"

Ash stood up and brushed some dust off his trousers before putting the card into his pocket. He gave Sawyer a faint smile, but he noticed he didn't feel like this one was forced at all, even if it was still small. Ash mustered all the remaining enthusiasm he could gather and responded, "Yeah, and next time we meet, we're going to have another battle!"

The beaming smile suddenly appearing on Sawyer puzzled Ash. He couldn't quite figure out entirely what was making the trainer look happy all of a sudden, but he certainly wasn't complaining about seeing a friend smile. All he could gather from Sawyer's expression is that he looked... relieved?

Sawyer pointed his hand sideways towards Ash. "Yes! Of course! It's a promise."

"Yeah, it's a promise."

Ash returned the offer of a handshake immediately, maintaining his smile as the green-haired boy then took his leave.

His only regret was that he didn't get the chance to thank Sawyer for making him feel a lot better.

He still felt drained, but Ash couldn't help but be in a better mood.

* * *

Alain carefully stroked the hair of the girl who was latched onto him. He listened to Mairin's rugged breathing as it slowly, but surely, became more stable. The young girl whimpered his name into his chest. He closed his eyes, gently tightening his grip around her.

Her outburst only moments before terrified him. Alain was glad he latched onto her instinctively, hoping to calm her down. It thankfully appeared to have done the trick.

He had never seen her look so frightened before. Her expression of fear was engraved in his memory and was refusing to leave his mind.

"Mairin, listen to me very carefully. You're listening, yeah?" He started, deciding to wait for a vocal response. A response that unfortunately never came, but he decided to continue after a while. "I'm here. I'm not leaving you ever again. I don't know what you're hearing, but just remember that I'm here, okay? You're safe. I promise." He finished, purposely using a more gentle tone.

He received a response this time, but it was just another whimper, though he figured it was better than nothing.

They sat in silence, with only a single pair of eyes watching them in silence from the door.

What felt like an eternity to Alain passed, but he didn't care in the slightest. When he heard the faint murmurs of sleep coming from Mairin, he released his grip from her and cautiously laid her back onto the bed.

He sighed with relief, stood up and locked eyes with the person waiting by the room's entrance. Alain had an idea of how the following conversation would go, but knew he had to ask anyway.

"Professor, do you... know what's happening to her?" He inquired.

The professor examined his uneasy tone and sighed. Alain wanted, no, needed, answers that Sycamore knew he was unable to provide. "I'm sorry. I haven't the faintest idea. All I can guess is that it's a lingering effect from her coma."

"But... hearing voices in her head?" Alain recalled. "Serena never had any of that, right?"

"As far as I'm aware, no." Sycamore responded. A look of anxiousness was engraved on his face. "This is new."

Alain sighed as he gradually sat down on the side of the bed, intending not to disturb his best friend's slumber. "I'm staying with her."

"Of course." Sycamore quickly replied. "I'll let the others know about Mairin's situation."

* * *

The conversation with her mother stung. It consistently repeated throughout her thoughts, never leaving at any point despite her attempts to internally change the subject.

Serena continued to walk with no destination in mind. Her legs moved on their own as she was swallowed by her inner thoughts.

There was no convincing her mother. She knew how set in her ways her mother could be. What hurt even more is that some part of her believed her mother had the right idea.

Waking up and thinking you've lived a life you haven't? Serena needed someone to always be there.

Serena remembered how it felt in the middle of the woods. Her body ached, her eyes leaked tears and she was in extraordinary pain, both physically and mentally.

She never wanted to feel like that again.

But she was inevitably going to.

She had complete faith that even Ash on his own could help her. She didn't want to burden him, of course, but she knew he would take up that responsibility without question. Serena had heard so much about what the trainer had done for her in the past few weeks. Her cheeks warmed at the thought of him caring so much about her. Part of her selfishly wished for him to continue taking care of her.

Serena wasn't sure where her current location in the lab was now. She also wasn't sure if suddenly spotting Emma was a good or bad thing. The performer stopped her movements and watched the other girl play with her Pokémon for a moment of time.

She didn't know the girl that well, only having truly met her once, but she had heard that Emma did help everyone against the battle with Team Flare, so she felt obliged to say something.

Serena wasn't in the dark about Emma's role to play in her condition, but after hearing the entire story, she didn't hold any form of grudge against the girl. She was still hesitant to approach the girl however, thinking Emma may be feeling guilty about the situation. Would her presence make things awkward?

"Aw, you're as ticklish as ever, Mimi!" Emma chuckled as she poked her Espurr, whose lack of expression really didn't indicate whether it was enjoying the tickling or not, but it showed no signs of trying to break free.

It was Mimi who noticed Serena's presence, making a gesture that alerted Emma as well.

"Oh, Serena!" Emma greeted the performer. She then bit her lip. "Um... how are things going?"

"They've... been better." Serena answered after a moment of hesitation. "But I'll be okay."

Emma nodded to the response and diverted her attention to Mimi, who was quietly sat in her arms. "Listen... I'm sorry for all this mess. I heard about what your mother said from Clemont. What she's doing isn't fair! You should definitely stay with Ash, Clemont and Bonnie! You belong with them!"

"I want to stay with them too... but my mother..." Serena started.

"Who cares what she thinks?" Emma cut her off. "Listen... I've never had to worry about parents bossing me around and such, so maybe this isn't my place to say but... okay, so, you've travelled all across Kalos, right?"

"Yeah, for the most part." Serena answered, growing somewhat eager to hear where Emma was going with this.

"And you've grown a lot as a person, right?" Emma inquired with a different question.

Serena instinctively reached to her hair with one of her hands. The other hand went to her blue ribbon. "...I like to think so." She halfheartedly chuckled.

"Your mother still sees you as the same little girl who has been living in her hometown all her life." Emma continued. "She hasn't truly seen how much you've grown and how much you can take care of yourself. At least, that's what I think."

"I know that but..." Serena started before releasing a sigh. "With this condition, I don't think it matters how much I've grown."

"Hmm... you have a point there..." Emma admitted, pausing to give her some time to think about other things, but a look of agitation appeared on her face. "Ah, sorry... I guess I wasn't much help at all."

"No, you did help!" Serena reassured her. "It was nice to have someone to talk to. I thought I needed time to myself but... having someone's input on the matter is helping me think a bit clearer now."

"Aww... then, I'm glad to hear that." Emma said with a beaming smile, a smile that strangely did not last for long. Serena flinched when Emma walked closer to her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Emma...?" Serena calmly called out to the girl.

"Listen... keep trying to convince your mother, okay?" She began, then moving her mouth closer to the performer's ear. "...and if you can't, I know a way you can get out of Lumiose City complete undetected."

"You're telling me to... run away?" Serena responded in a tone of disbelief.

Emma took a step back and flashed her a smile. "Not exactly. I'm just telling you that the option is there, should you decide you need it. Though if you do decide to go through with it, you definitely shouldn't go alone."

Silence reigned for a brief moment, only interrupted by the quiet yawn of Mimi. Emma stroked her companion's head and it purred, enjoying the affection.

"Um..." Serena muttered without thought.

Emma noticed the puzzled expression on her friend's face. She bit her lip. "Sorry, that was quite a thing I just said there, wasn't it? If you want, you can completely forget I said it, okay? I... should be going."

Serena wanted to inquire more about what Emma had just said, but figured it was best to let the girl be. The atmosphere between the two was bound to be awkward the next time they met. She watched as Emma half-walked and half-skipped away.

Her mind was plagued with questions she couldn't answer before. Now, there were even more questions.

All she could admit to herself was that she was completely and utterly drained.

Serena sighed.


End file.
